Army called in to control riot in Poonch after shrine damage

JAMMU: The Army was called out and curfew imposed in a border town in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, after anger over demolition of a partially-constructed mosque on disputed land turned into a pitched battle between the police and 10,000 residents.
The trouble began three days ago in Poonch district’s Mendhar, 240 km from Jammu, when about a thousand residents forcibly occupied a large piece of land near the bus stand and began constructing a mosque.
As the land belongs to local BJP leader, the police intervened and stopped the construction. On Thursday, people forced their way in again and resumed construction, when police stopped them and demolished the incomplete structure.
Over 25 people, many of them policemen, were injured in the pitched battle between rioters and the police. As tension had been simmering in the area since Thursday and there had been some rioting in the area on Friday, authorities imposed a curfew starting 5 am on Saturday and sealed off all approach roads into Mendhar and shut down the local telephone exchange.
A huge posse of policemen then cordoned off the disputed land. As news of the demolition spread, locals — allegedly led by a local National Conference leader — took to the streets. People from adjoining villages, seeing the roads blocked — rolled down the hill sides using mud tracts.
Residents told TOI that by 9 am, a 10,000-strong mob had collected around the demolished structure. The police, which had brought in some reinforcements on Friday night, tried to disperse the crowd.
Soon the two groups were engaged in hurling stones and bricks at each other. The police also fired a few shots in the air and sprayed tear gas, but nothing worked.
The mob once again began reconstruction of the mosque, at which point of time the civil administration sought Army intervention. The Army has now fanned out and also ordered that reconstruction work be stopped.