Mob attacks MLA's house, torches guard room in Kashmir

Security forces clashed with protestors on Thursday in the Kashmir Valley after the house of an MLA was attacked in south Kashmir, police said.

An irate mob attacked the house of Muhammad Yusuf Bhat, MLA from Shopian, while Bhat and his family were away, a police official told IANS here.

"The guard room at Bhat's house in Bimender village was torched by the mob, but all the guards were safely evacuated," he said.

Panic gripped the Valley after rumours spread that authorities were planning to embargo supplies, including petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Scores of people thronged filling stations, but at most places those in charge of filling station said they had run out of supplies.

Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Basheer Ahmad Khan, however, refuted the rumours and maintained that "the oil companies in the Valley have been assured of all essential supplies".

Security forces are enforcing a day-night curfew in Srinagar for the first time in 41 days since the ongoing unrest started.

At many places, the security forces intervened in areas which had been placed under curfew where shopkeepers tried to open their shops.

Meanwhile, the unified separatists camp issued a fresh protest calendar extending the 41-day protest shutdown till August 25.

All educational institutions, shops, public transport and other businesses have remained shut in Kashmir since July 9, a day after young rebel commander Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with the security forces.

--IANS

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