Over 600 Amarnath pilgrims court arrest

Jammu: At least 600 Amarnath-bound pilgrims, led by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) workers, courted arrest today after they were prevented from proceeding towards the hill shrine by the state administration.

The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has earlier fixed the date of the yatra on June 25. However, the pilgrims tried to start the yatra from today, defying the prohibitory orders clamped to deter them.

Around six hundred pilgrims from different parts of the country, including the members of VHP and few saints, assembled at Parade area of the city early this morning to leave for the cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir, police said.

Police took them to the Yatra Nivas in Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu after a couple of hours-long protest, officials said. The protesters were released in the evening, they added.

Among the arrested were VHP state president Ramakant Dubey, BJP state secretary Sat Sharma, and Bhartya Janta Yuva Morcha president Manish Sharma.

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The devotees urged the government to extend the duration of the yatra to two months starting from Jayeshth Purnima on Monday. They accused the government and the Board of 'deliberately' trying to curtail the period of the pilgrimage.

VHP national spokesperson Surinder Jain demanded Governor's resignation following today's incident, saying "being the chairman of the Board it was his responsibility to start the yatra from Jayeshth Purnima, which he has failed to do."

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He said that their "campaign will continue till it reaches its logical conclusion."