Demand For Separate District, Over 30 Injured In Clashes In Nowshera

Jammu: At least 30 people have been injured after clashes broke out at Nowshera, in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, over growing demand of district status for the border town. Protesters threw stones at police personnel, who had to use teargas to disperse the mob.

Last week, the Jammu and Kashmir government, in a significant step, had upgraded the posts of sub-divisional magistrates to additional Deputy Commissioners, in three sub-divisions of Rajouri district - Nowshera, Kalakote and Sunderbani. But people in Nowshehra claim that is not enough. They want full-fledged separate district status and intensified the protests, blocking highways on Saturday.

For over a month protests have grown in Nowshera; there were several calls of shutdown in the area. Yesterday, the protesters had resorted to intense stone pelting and targeted the District Commissioner of Rajouri, Shahid Iqbal Chowdhary, who managed to escape unhurt as he was wearing protective helmet and vest, police said. Mr Chowdhary was hit on his head after protesters hurled glass bottles at him.

An additional superintendent of police, two deputy police superintendents, a station house officer and two sub-inspectors were among the injured, say local media reports.

Mobile internet services have been suspended in the area after Saturday's clashes. The Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri and senior police officials are holding talks with the protesters, the police said.

People in the border town claim that even before Independence, Nowshera was a tehsil and now it should be upgraded as a full-fledged district.