SRINAGAR: The residence of Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister and government spokesperson Naeem Akhtar was attacked with petrol bombs, while one person was killed and another injured allegedly when the personal security guard of a senior government official opened fire on a mob trying to set ablaze the official’s vehicle.
Akhtar, also a senior PDP leader, was not in the house at the time of the attack. He has been living with his family in an official bungalow in high-security Gupkar Srinagar for the last one year.
A police officer said unknown persons lobbed petrol bombs at Akhtar’s residence at Parraypora in Srinagar on Monday evening. “Glass panes of the front window were damaged in the attack,” he said.
Another PDP minister Abdul Haq’s cavalcade faced a hostile crowd in Tangdhar in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, where he had gone on an official visit. The crowd pelted stones on his cavalcade forcing him to cut short his visit and retreat.
Curbs and the shutdown continued for the 25th consecutive day on Tuesday in the Valley, where 53 people, including two policemen, have been killed in the unrest triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Curfew remained in force in six police stations in Srinagar, Anantnag town, Pulwama town while security restrictions banning the assembly of four people remained in force throughout the Valley.
Shops, business establishments, petrol pumps, educational institutions, semi-government offices remained closed while attendance in government offices and banks was thin.
Following the call of separatists, women in many parts of Valley staged demonstrations raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans.