4 killed in grenade attack on Charar-e-Sharief shrine

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, JUNE 8. Four women were killed and 60 others injured, some of them seriously, when unidentified militants threw a grenade at the shrine of Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani in the premises of the famous Charar-e-Sharief mosque in central Kashmir on Friday. The incident evoked strong protests and the situation in the town turned violent.

Police said that about 15,000 devotees from various parts of the Kashmir Valley were about to offer prayers when the grenade exploded. Twenty of the injured, most of whom were removed to hospitals in Srinagar, were said to be critical. Some were admitted to local hospitals. Three of the four deceased were women - Nissara, Zubaida and Gousia.

An eyewitness said the grenade, thrown from the side of the Talab (pond), landed in the shrine complex. ``We do not know who threw it,'' he said adding it was followed by firing. However, police denied that any of the injured had bullet wounds. Hundreds of blood-splattered sandals were later found in the complex.

Soon after the blast, local residents came to the shrine and began raising slogans against the police. Some even blamed the Special Operations Group of the State police. According to reports, around 60,000 people had gathered at the shrine and demanded a probe. ``This is outrageous and amounts to desecration of the revered shrine,'' said a protester. Tempers ran high and the authorities found it difficult to pacify the angry protesters who reportedly attacked the police. However, the attacks could not be confirmed.

Late in the evening, a police bulletin said: ``Today militants hurled a grenade in the premises of the Charar-e- Sharief shrine where large number of devotees had assembled for Friday prayers. About 50 devotees were injured in the blast. The injured were shifted to different hospitals and four women died in hospital. Some of the policemen, including the SHO, present at the shrine escaped unhurt.''

The Revenue Minister, Mr. Abdul Qayoom, the Minister of State for Home and Law, Mr. Mushtaq Lone, the Kashmir IGP, Dr. Ashok Bhan, the Divisional Commissioner, Mr. K. A. Ganai, the DC Budgam, Mr. Rohit Kansal, and the Budgam SSP, Mr. Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, rushed to the spot. The Government ordered an inquiry into the incident and rushed additional police and paramilitary troops to the spot, official sources said.

This is the second major incident after the 600-year- old shrine was gutted in a mysterious fire which followed a month-long standoff between the Army and militants in May 1995. Most of the militants led by an Afghan warlord, Mast Gul, managed to escape but the entire town was razed to the ground.

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