The Hindu : Protesters take to the streets in Kreeri

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2002

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Other States - Jammu & Kashmir

Protesters take to the streets in Kreeri

By Kalpana Sharma

KREERI (Baramulla dt.) Sept. 16. As polling ended in this small town, tucked away off the main highway linking Srinagar to Baramulla, a burnt-out wreckage of a station wagon was the only sign of the high drama that had taken place earlier in the day. Otherwise, the town resembled dozens of places in the Baramulla district where all the shops were closed and small groups of men stood watching.

The incident that took place here, away from media spotlight and unseen by election observers, was in some way an illustration of the tension and violence that marked the first phase of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the people, and confirmed by local police, security forces picked up a 75-year-old woman and her two grandsons at the crack of dawn today. Her son is a militant and she was taken for questioning, following the exchange of fire between suspected militants and the Army on Saturday — shops opposite the police station bear evidence of the exchange. When people heard of this, they came out in huge numbers to the town square and began shouting pro-Pakistani and pro-independence slogans, a shopkeeper said.

While the residents made exaggerated claims about the numbers, police confirmed that at least 3,000 people gathered. Just then a station wagon, with workers from the ruling National Conference, entered the town. The car was surrounded and set on fire by the irate mob but no one was hurt. People dispersed only when the woman was released at 2 p.m. by the Army at the behest of police.

In Kreeri, where there are 2,600 registered voters, exactly six persons voted at the end of the day.

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Protesters take to the streets in Kreeri