Strict vigilance in J&K, four security men hurt in grenade attack

Tight security was in place on Monday ahead of the Independence Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir, while three Central Reserve Police Force troopers and a policeman were injured in a grenade attack in Badgam district.

Militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba owned responsibility for the attack.

Beefed-up security in both Srinagar and Jammu came in the wake of intelligence reports on militants plans to disrupt August 15 official functions in the state.

Makeshift checkposts sprung up at dozens of places in Jammu and Srinagar, as all vehicles entering both the cities were stopped to enable frisking of occupants and checking of vehicles.

All high-rise buildings around the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu and the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar were taken over by sharpshooters to secure the two venues for the main Independence Day functions in the state.

A senior police official said drones and closed-circuit television were used to ensure security.

In Srinagar, all roads leading to the Bakshi Stadium, where Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will hoist the national flag, were sealed for both vehicular and pedestrian movement.

Entry to the stadium is highly regulated by electronic equipment and human surveillance.

Entry to the Jammu stadium too was tightly regulated by security forces.

Tensions have traditionally been high in the Valley around August 15 and January 26 since the ongoing separatist violence started in the state in the early 1990s.

Separatists have been calling for protest shutdowns and civilian boycott of Independence Day parades, with militants attempting to disrupt official functions on January 26 and August 15 all these years.

Traffic on the roads and crowds in markets were lesser than usual in Srinagar on Monday as people rushed home earlier amid the tight security.

Authorities imposed curfew-like restrictions in parts of Srinagar city for what they said was maintaining law and order.

--IANS

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