Kashmir on edge after CRPF vehicle mows down protester
Srinagar, June 2: Hundreds of slogan-shouting residents on Saturday attended the funeral of a 21-year-old man who along with two others was injured on Friday when a paramilitary vehicle ran over protesters in an already volatile old Srinagar city.
The city remained on edge on Saturday as authorities imposed restriction and snapped mobile internet services amid Ramadan ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.
The incident and subsequent protests occurred days before Home Minister Rajnath Singh's valley visit next week to review the situation after the Centre's May 16 decision to call a ceasefire during the month of fasting.
Srinagar is already tense after Kaiser Ahmad succumbed to his critical internal injuries in a Srinagar hospital after the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle hit protests in old city neighbourhood of Nowhatta -- a hot-bed of anti-government protests in the valley.
The death of the man triggered more angry protests. Hundreds of people on Saturday marched towards and gathered near a graveyard in Eidgah grounds here to offer a congregational funeral prayer.
Security forces used tear smoke shells to quell the angry mourners who were shouting anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.
Authorities placed chairman of his faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest at his Nigeen residence to prevent his participation in the funeral procession.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik was also arrested in Srinagar.
Authorities imposed restrictions in old city areas to maintain law and order and mobile Internet services suspended in Srinagar and Budgam districts.
The speed of broadband Internet connections was also been reduced to prevent uploading of provocative posts and pictures.
The death of the Srinagar man triggered sharp criticism from former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, tweeting if the government's "ceasefire means no guns, so use jeeps".
"Earlier they tied people to the fronts of jeeps and paraded them around villages to deter protesters. Now they just drive their jeeps right over protestors. Is this your new SOP," Abdullah said and tagged Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh said the National Conference leader's tweet smacked of "the double standards of Kashmir centric politicians".
"Security forces are soft targets for these politicians but they can't speak against the militants as they can strike back," the BJP MP from Udhampur said.
He said the criticism of security forces who risk their lives protecting the country was "unfortunate".
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
