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Curfew in Kishtwar as protest turns violent

By Luv Puri

Jammu Aug. 1. Curfew was clamped in Kishtwar town of Doda district after a demonstration by migrant villagers, demanding Army pickets, turned violent. Twelve persons were injured in the incident.

About 150 families migrated from Pullar area, 14 km from Kishtwar town, on Thursday after militants "asked" them to leave the village or face dire consequences. The villagers said the Lashkar-e-Taiba had issued threat letters asking them to leave the village within a week. The villagers had long been demanding an Army picket there.

The migrants were joined by local people when they marched towards the sub-divisional office. The protestors turned violent when police stopped them and in the melee that ensued, 12 persons, including the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were injured.

The situation worsened when the protestors forced some shopkeepers to down their shutters.

As the situation went out of control, the authorities decided to impose curfew. The Army was called in to assist police and security forces fired several rounds in the air to disperse the crowd.

The situation was tense but under control in the evening, a police official said.

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