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Third phase polling begins; eight killed in militant attack in Kathua

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Eight passengers of a bus were killed and nine wounded when militants attacked a Jammu-bound bus near Hirananagar in the Kathua district on Tuesday morning, as polling for the third phase of assembly election began in 27 constituencies spread over four districts.

Three militants, dressed in police uniforms, lobbed grenades and fired indiscriminately at the bus, which had originated from Delhi, when it stopped at Hirangar, the sources said.

One of the grenades exploded in the bus, while another exploded after hitting the road. The militants then resorted to indiscriminate firing on the bus and an auto stand nearby killing eight and injuring nine, the sources said.

The injured have been rushed to the Kathua Hospital and the Government Medical College Hospital.

The police, the Central Reserve Police Force and the army have rushed to the site to track down the terrorists, the sources said, adding the encounter was going on.

Director General of Police A K Suri said one of the militants was killed by the security forces in an exchange of fire, while a hunt was on to trace the other two.

Union Minister of State for Defence Chaman Lal Gupta condemned the attack and said this was 'yet another attempt' to disrupt the polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The perpetrators of this heinous act will be defeated at all cost in this proxy war," he said and expressed confidence voters will turn up in large numbers to exercise their franchise.

Militants also attacked a power grid station in Hiranagar.

Reinforcement has been rushed to the area to track down the militants, the sources said. As many as 1,12,359 voters of five assembly constituencies of Kathua district will decide the fate of 22 candidates.

A report from Tral in south Kashmir said a polling booth was attacked near Soimooh. Police said militants opened fire from automatic weapons.

Elsewhere, a Border Security Force jawan was killed when militants opened fire on a patrol party in Gulabgarh area of Udhampur district on Monday night, a BSF spokesman said on Monday.

He said the patrol party on a sanitisation mission in Hasote village was fired upon by militants. The jawan, Sudarshan Reddy, who injured in the firing, succumbed to injuries.

Meanwhile, under the threat of terrorism and boycott call by separatist outfits, polling began for the third phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections covering 27 constituencies spread over four districts amidst tight security.

An estimated 1.8 million voters are expected to cast their votes across Anantnag, Pulwama, Udhampur and Kathua districts to choose their representatives from 226 candidates.

Among the heavyweights in fray in the penultimate phase are Deputy Speaker of J&K assembly Haider Malik, three ministers -- Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Shah, Bashir Ahmad Nangroo and Sakina Itoo -- PDP vice-president Mehbooba Mufti, counterinsurgent-turned-politician Liaqat Ali Khan and Khalida Mushtaq who is battling for life in hospital following a landmine attack two days ago.

Security personnel took up positions in and around nearly 2,000 polling stations to instil confidence among the voters and foil militants from disrupting the electoral process.

Against the trend of largely straight contests in the first two phases, most of the constituencies in the third phase will witness multi-cornered contests. Balloting in nine polling booths in Poonch, Budgam and Jammu districts, where repolling was ordered, also began simultaneously with the third phase poll.

With inputs from PTI

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