Five killed, 20 hurt in Jammu after Quran protests (Second Lead)

JAMMU - At least five people were killed and 20 injured in Jammu region’s Mendhar town Wednesday following clashes between police and crowds protesting the alleged desecration of the Quran in the US.

The clashes started after the police intercepted a procession moving towards a Christian missionary school, police sources said.

The police opened fire as the crowd did not relent even after attempts at baton charge and using teargas to disperse the mob. The police firing triggered a stampede and led to more clashes as irate mobs targeted government buildings and attacked a police station.

The death toll could go up as some of the injured were in critical condition.

The administration has sought the help of paramilitary forces to contain the volatile situation in Mendhar, which is predominantly Muslim. Some of the injured are being shifted to hospitals in Rajouri and Jammu.

There were conflicting accounts of what led to the deaths in Mendhar, 210 km from here. While locals said the protesters died in police firing, police sources said they were killed in a stampede after police fired in the air.

The protests were against the alleged desecration of the Quran in the US last week.

The neighbouring town of Poonch where protests had broken out Tuesday continued to be tense, officials said.

Local legislator Rafiq Hussain Khan has demanded a judicial probe into the incident. In a statement, he claimed that the “protests were peaceful” and alleged that the “police firing was unprovoked”.

Similar protests in the Kashmir Valley led to mobs attacking a Christian missionary school and government buildings in Tangmarg town Monday. That day, 18 people were killed in the valley during protests that were initially triggered by fury over the reported desecration of the Quran.