Kishtwar violence: Curfew in 3 more districts and Army on alert

Jammu, Aug 11: Curfew was clamped in three more districts of Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in Jammu region on Sunday and Army staged flag marches as tension prevailed following outbreak of communal violence in Kishtwar on Friday that left two persons dead and scores of others injured.

While Kistwar remained curfew bound for the third consecutive day on Sunday, curfew was imposed in Jammu and Rajouri districts and Army called out after some incidents of arson and violence last night.

Meanwhile, chief minister Omar Abdullah appealed to people to not fall prey to rumours about situation in Kishtwar and assured that the government will do everything to restore calm.

Curfew was on Sunday extended to Udhampur, Samba and Kathua along with Bhaderwah town in Doda, thus affecting seven out of 10 districts of Jammu region.

"Curfew has been imposed in Udhampur, Kathua and Samba districts on Sunday as a precautionary measure and Army has also been deployed in the areas to assist local administration", divisional commissioner, Jammu, Shantmanu told PTI.

"The situation is tense but under control. There are no reports of any untoward incident today. Army has staged flag marches in several areas," he said.

The SPs of Udhampur, Kathua and Samba districts are monitoring the situation.

Pathankote-Jammu-Srinagar highway, which is the only surface link between Kashmir and rest of the country is being kept open by the authorities amid deployment of additional forces.

Restrictions have been imposed on assembly of people in areas other than under curfew, police said.

Authorities imposed curfew and deployed army in the Jammu and Rajouri districts last night after some incidents of arson and communal tension.

PTI