JOIN US12 hurt in clash between taxi drivers, CRPF men
At least a dozen persons were injured when a clash broke out between CRPF personnel and local taxi drivers protesting against the alleged beating of their colleague by personnel of the force at Baltal base camp of Amarnath yatra in Kashmir, police said.
The clashes erupted on Thursday night when the taxi drivers were protesting against CRPF personnel beating a local taxi driver Ghulam Nabi Lone following an altercation, leaving him severely injured, police said.
At least a dozen protesters were injured in the clashes, three of whom were hospitalised, they added.
The security force personnel resorted to tear gas shelling and baton charge to disperse the protesters, they said.
During the clashes, fire erupted in one of the tents being used as a community kitchen, police said, adding the blaze was put out by fire tenders later.
The yatris from the nearby tents were shifted to safer places during the clashes, they said.
Senior officials of the civil administration and police rushed to the spot and resolved the matter, police said, adding the pilgrimage started this morning smoothly.
Pilgrims die
Two pilgrims died after they suffered an heart attack enroute the cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir.
Krishen Kunji, 50, of Gujarat suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday evening enroute the cave shrine at Bhawan and was admitted to medical aid centre where he died, a police officer said.
Another pilgrim, Ashwani Bhai Patail, 51, of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh also died of a heart attack between Chandwari and Sheshnag area during the yatra on July 3.
Bodies of both have been handed over to their kins for last rites.
Four pilgrims have died till now during the Amarnath yatra which began on June 28.
Ninth batch
A batch of 1,957 devotees on Friday left Jammu base camp to pay obeisance at the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
A convoy of 69 vehicles, carrying 1,957 devotees, left from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu at around 5.02 am, police said here on Friday.
The ninth batch of pilgrims, which include 1,412 male, 421 women and 24 children, apart from 100 priests, were on way to twin base camps of Pahalagam and Baltal in the Kashmir Valley.
With this batch a total of 20,134 pilgrims have left Jammu base camp for Amarnath so far.
Over 83,000 pilgrims have paid obeisance of the ice lingam at the Amarnath cave shrine till last evening.