Centre worries about terror spurt

As tension runs high in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre is worried about a spurt in terror activities and violence in the Valley as it suspects terrorist outfits across the border may try to fuel the unrest in coming days. While security forces have been asked to keep tight vigil, the Amarnath Yatra was also suspended owing to the unabated protests in Ramban district of J&K. The Union home ministry is closely watching the situation and a decision to re-start the yatra will be taken only when the protests subside and normalcy starts returning in the region, a government official said. Security sources said that constant attempts are being made by the cross-border groups and the anti-national elements in the Valley to infiltrate terrorists as well as create unrest similar to the situation in 2010, the year which had witnessed a series of violent protests and riots. “These anti-national groups have been waiting to strike. The spurt in violence is a matter of worry. The situation has to be kept under constant watch to ensure the protests do not spiral out of control,” an official said. While the BSF has maintained that it adopted “maximum restraint” while trying to quell the violence by the mob which tried to storm their storehouse of arms and ammunition, the home ministry is not giving a clean chit to it till the time it receives a detailed report on the incident. The Jammu and Kashmir government had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident while home minister Sushilkumar Shinde directed a probe into the role of the BSF which is stationed in the area to guard railway installations. The CPI(M) on Friday demanded immediate action against the BSF personnel who fired upon protesters in Ramban district claiming at least four lives and injuring several others.