Kishtwar clashes: Curfew continues in eight Jammu districts

Jammu, Aug 12: Indefinite curfew continued Monday in eight districts of Jammu region, as the authorities said except for some minor incidents, the overall situation remained peaceful throughout the region.Curfew continued for the fourth day without any relaxation in Kishtwar town, where communal clashes erupted Friday, resulting in the death of two people and destruction of public and private property."Curfew shall continue without any relaxation today (Monday) in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri, Doda and Kistwar districts. No curfew has been imposed in Poonch and Ramban districts," a senior administrative officer told IANS. He said the situation was being reviewed regularly and any decision on relaxation of curfew would be based on improvement of situation, where it has been imposed as a precautionary measure.Loudspeaker-mounted security vehicles Monday morning made the announcements in the curfew-bound areas, advising people to remain indoors, as no relaxation has been given under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).The army carried out flag marches Monday morning in the curfew-bound areas to instill confidence among people.Miscreants torched a vehicle in Domana area of Jammu city Sunday, where slogan-shouting protesters also burnt tyres at some places.A peace march was carried out by members of both the communities in Poonch town Sunday to assert centuries-old communal harmony of Jammu and Kashmir.Authorities have ordered the closure of all educational institutions in Jammu Monday, as the Board of School Education also postponed the Class 11 exams scheduled for the day.The annual Amarnath yatra remained suspended for the second day Monday as no pilgrim was allowed to proceed to the valley.