Police use tear gas to control irate protesters in Jammu
26 Aug 2008, 1818 Hrs

Police in Jammu had to resort to tear gassing on Tuesday to control violent protesters alleging police excesses in Digiana on Monday.

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Jammu, August 26 (ANI): Police in Jammu had to resort to tear gassing on Tuesday to control violent protesters alleging police excesses in Digiana on Monday.

Protesters clashed with the police in Purani Mandi area of the city, forcing the police to use tear gas to disperse them.

They pelted stones at the police leading to ding dong battles in the narrow by-lanes of the area.

The protesters threatened to carry out more violent agitations if the administration tried to stop them.

"We appeal to the administration and the Central Government that they should not try and interfere in our protests. There will be a massive protest rally on Wednesday and if they interfere or try to stop us, our agitation will turn more violent," said Mahant Rameshwar, a protester.

Meanwhile the fourth round of peace talks held to resolve the shrine row has failed.

The body fighting for restoration of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has extended its shutdown call till August 31.

The authorities lifted the curfew in Kathua on Tuesday, a day after it was imposed following incidents of violence and subsequent clashes between police and protestors.

The row over the land allocated for setting up temporary facilities for Hindu pilgrims visiting Amarnath shrine in Kashmir and later its withdrawal has snowballed into large-scale protests for about two months. (ANI)