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Srinagar curfew continues;
Jammu also tense

Curfew has been lifted from areas falling under two police stations while it will continue in other uptown areas on Monday as a precautionary measure in view of the tension in Srinagar following the killing of six Sikhs on Saturday.

Jammu was tense following violence by youths who pelted stoned at shops and vehicles in protest against the killings of six Sikhs in Srinagar. Some Sikh organisations - Shiromani Akali Dal, Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee and Jammu Joint Students' Federation - in the city have called for a bandh on Monday.

In view of the tension, indefinite curfew was imposed and security measures put in place to prevent any untoward incident on Monday.

A senior police officer told this correspondent that after a thorough review of the over all situation on Sunday evening, it was decided to lift the curfew from Maisuma and Kothibagh police station areas in Srinagar on Monday.

The authorities, however, decided to continue the curfew in nine police stations areas in Srinagar. Troops are patrolling the deserted streets to maintain law and order.

The decision to lift the curfew from areas under two police stations in the city centre was taken after the cremation of bodies at Mehjoor Nagar on Sunday evening.

Hundreds of Sikhs from the city and suburbs joined the funeral shouting religious slogans. Angry Sikh youths pelted stones on the homes of local Muslims and had to be chased away by the security personnel.

A senior police officer in Srinagar said security in all the Sikh dominated areas in Srinagar and other towns and villages has been beefed up.

Meanwhile, the injured persons are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the city.

UNI adds:

A three-member central team, led by Chemical and Fertilisers Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, will visit Srinagar on Monday to assess the ground realities following the massacre of six Sikhs by unidentified assailants on Saturday.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta and National Minorities Commission Vice-Chairman Tirlochan Singh will meet members of the Sikh community and make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

Tirlochan Singh said the team is being sent on the direction of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was briefed about the sense of insecurity among Sikhs in insurgency-hit Jammu and Kashmir following repeated attacks on them during the last few months.

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