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SRINAGAR: In an apparent bid to spread terror three days ahead of the Prime Ministerââ¬â¢s roundtable conference in Srinagar, terrorists on Sunday lobbed a grenade and opened indiscriminate fire on a 5,000-strong Congress youth rally in the heart of the city, killing seven people and injuring 20. Two terrorists were also gunned down in retaliatory fire by security agencies.
The high-profile rally was organised to mark the 15th death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi
at Sher-e-Kashmir park here and was attended by state Congress leaders, besides top cops. Despite elaborate arrangements, two Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives dressed in khaki penetrated the security lines. They lobbed grenades and opened fire minutes before chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was to arrive at the venue.
Busloads of Congress workers, who came from various district headquarters, had just about settled at the park when, around 1.20 pm, a big bang followed by sound of gunfire had everyone crouching in their places in fear. As panic spread and people started rushing to the nearest exit point, security forces put their act together and began evacuating Congress leaders and women workers in bulletproof cars. Ambulances were also called in to evacuate the injured.
According to eyewitnesses, two men wearing police uniforms and armed with AK-47 rifles and hand grenades came running from Lal Chowk towards the park.
"While one managed to enter the park and reached up to the dais, the other terrorist tried to take shelter inside a nearby restaurant, just outside the main gate of the park," said an eyewitness.
Although the area was heavily barricaded, the terrorists managed to deceive the men on duty and gained access to the park, said Kothi Bagh SHO Shabir Ahmad.
"One of the terrorists tried to enter the municipal library inside the park, but was killed near the dais while the other was gunned down near the parkââ¬â¢s main gate," said IG CRPF A P Maheshwari.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1540808.cms
The high-profile rally was organised to mark the 15th death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi
at Sher-e-Kashmir park here and was attended by state Congress leaders, besides top cops. Despite elaborate arrangements, two Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives dressed in khaki penetrated the security lines. They lobbed grenades and opened fire minutes before chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was to arrive at the venue.
Busloads of Congress workers, who came from various district headquarters, had just about settled at the park when, around 1.20 pm, a big bang followed by sound of gunfire had everyone crouching in their places in fear. As panic spread and people started rushing to the nearest exit point, security forces put their act together and began evacuating Congress leaders and women workers in bulletproof cars. Ambulances were also called in to evacuate the injured.
According to eyewitnesses, two men wearing police uniforms and armed with AK-47 rifles and hand grenades came running from Lal Chowk towards the park.
"While one managed to enter the park and reached up to the dais, the other terrorist tried to take shelter inside a nearby restaurant, just outside the main gate of the park," said an eyewitness.
Although the area was heavily barricaded, the terrorists managed to deceive the men on duty and gained access to the park, said Kothi Bagh SHO Shabir Ahmad.
"One of the terrorists tried to enter the municipal library inside the park, but was killed near the dais while the other was gunned down near the parkââ¬â¢s main gate," said IG CRPF A P Maheshwari.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1540808.cms
