Grenade attack near flea market in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar leaves 12 injured

Srinagar: 12 civilians including two women and four teenagers, were injured in a grenade attack in a bustling flea market near the heavily-guarded Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) in Srinagar on Sunday.

Sources said the grenade was thrown from a flyover near the Radio Kashmir crossing, towards paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel near the TRC. However, it missed the intended target and hit a street vendor’s cart, injuring 12 civilians, mostly shoppers.

The injured were immediately shifted to super-speciality SMHS hospital. Doctors said all of them have splinter injuries and one of them is in a critical condition while the others are stable.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as people fled the area, seeking safety amid the confusion. A video after the grenade attack showed police and paramilitary forces rushing to the area.

The Residency Road stretch, from the TRC to city center Lal Chowk, is usually crowded at this time as it hosts Srinagar’s Sunday market. A few paramilitary bunkers are also housed under the flyover near the TRC. Sunday’s attack is the first grenade blast in Srinagar in the past over two years.

Immediately after the attack, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha held discussions with top security officials, including J&K Police chief Nalin Prabhat, emphasizing the need for an “effective and forceful” response.

“Terrorists targeting our citizens will have to pay a very heavy price for their actions. You have full freedom to crush terror outfits and leave no stone unturned to complete this mission,” the LG told the senior security officials.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged the security forces to “take all necessary actions to stop this surge of attacks.”

“The last few days have been dominated by headlines of attacks and encounters in parts of the Valley. Today’s news of a grenade attack on innocent shoppers at the ‘Sunday market’ in Srinagar is deeply disturbing. There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians. The security apparatus must do everything possible to end this spurt of attacks at the earliest so that people can go about their lives without any fear,” Omar posted on X.

The incident comes a day after Usman Lashkari, a top commander of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit, who was active in the Valley for several years, was killed in the old city Khanyar area on Saturday.

Four security personnel were also injured in the gunfight which included two from paramilitary CRPF and two from J&K Police’s Special Operation Group (SOG). On the same day, two terrorists were killed in another encounter at Larnoo area of Anantnag district.

The latest attacks have come despite heightened security arrangements across Kashmir following a spike in terror attacks in the valley since Omar Abdullah took office as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 16.

Ruling National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday demanded a probe into the surge in encounters after the government formation.

“I doubt why there wasn’t spurt in gunfights before the government formation. There should be an independent probe to find out who is doing it,” senior Abdullah said while talking to the media at his Gupkar residence, here.