Srinagar: Women protestors, including National Conference President Farooq Abdullah's sister and daughter, who were arrested on Tuesday after they took out a protest march, were released on bail by a court here this evening, officials said.

Abdullah's sister Suraiya, his daughter Safiya and 11 other women furnished a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and surety of Rs 40,000 each under section 107 of criminal procedure code, giving an assurance that they would maintain peace, the officials said.

The women, who were lodged in central jail Srinagar, were released around 6 pm on Wednesday after the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate granted them bail, they said.

Suraiya and Safiya were leading a group of women activists, who wore black arm bands and held placards, while protesting against abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.

They were not allowed by the police to assemble and asked to disperse peacefully. However, they refused to do so and tried to stage a sit-in after which they were detained and then arrested.

Post August 5, when the Centre abrogated special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir, the state authorities have detained scores of political leaders including three former chief ministers -- Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah.

The senior Abdullah was subsequently booked under the stringent Public Safety Act last month.

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Imphal (PTI): Two children were killed and their mother was injured in a bomb attack in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Tuesday, triggering protests by locals, police said.

The incident occurred at around 1 am when a bomb was hurled by suspected militants at a house in Moirang Tronglaobi area, killing a 5-year-old boy and a six-month-old girl, a senior officer said.

The two children and their mother were sleeping in their bedroom when the bomb exploded in the house, he said.

Locals staged a protest this morning and torched two oil tankers and a truck near a petrol pump in the area. They burnt tyres in front of the Moirang Police Station and destroyed a makeshift police outpost.

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Security forces have been deployed in the area to control the situation, the officer said.

Low-lying Moirang Tronglaobi is located close to hill areas of Churachandpur and witnessed consistent gun firing during the ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups in 2023 and 2024.

An explosive device was also recovered in a nearby area of Tronglaobi on Tuesday, another senior officer said.

Local NPP MLA Th Shanti Singh condemned the "brutal attack at Tronglaobi, allegedly carried out by Kuki narco-terrorists".

"This heinous act is nothing less than an act of terrorism. Such inhuman acts have no place in our society and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms," he said.

"I offer my heartfelt tributes to the innocent lives lost - a 5-year-old boy and a 5-month-old baby girl - taken away in such a cold-blooded manner. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved family during this unimaginable time of grief," the MLA said.

More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.