J&K terrorists threaten to chop off fingers for voting

LeT and HuM have reportedly joined forces and are planning attacks in Udhampur, which goes to the polls on May 10.

The Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen have reportedly joined forces and are planning attacks in the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to the polls on May 10.

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Intercepts by the army revealed that the terrorists plan to strike in the area to enforce their poll boycott call. To counter the threat, army and paramilitary troops are pouring into Doda district, part of Udhampur constituency.

The threat of terrorists hangs heavy on the voters in the Doda hills, the reason for muted electioneering. Voters said they feared coming out in the open after terrorists warned people to steer clear of the polls in areas like Dessa, Bhagwa, and Mohu Mangat.

Abdul Rashid of Marmat said terrorists have threatened to visit them on the polling day and examine their fingers. "They (terrorists) have threatened to check our fingers for the voting mark. Any finger with the black spot would be chopped off," he said.

Fluttering party flags and poll graffiti are missing, making for a colourless countdown to the polls. "We live in scattered places without army access. We are at the mercy of terrorists, who can come calling any moment," Rashid said.

If the Lashkar and Hizb are focusing their threats on the hills, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is carrying its anti-election campaign on the plains. "We are simply telling the people that these elections are not going to lead to any solution," JKLF leader Masood Ahmad said.

Meanwhile, chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed addressed a rally here on Friday.

Mufti, who has been claiming relatively violence-free elections this time, chose not to speak from behind a bullet-proof dais, ostensibly to play down the threats. Pradesh Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad too addressed the gathering in the open.

Violence in Pulwama

A mother-daughter duo and another girl were injured when terrorists hurled a grenade at the house of a Congress leader in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Friday. The grenade, hurled at the house of Congress leader Mohd. Shafi Banday in Shopian town, missed its target and exploded outside the boundary. Banday was not at home.