Clashes in Jammu and Kashmir town

JAMMU - More than a dozen people were injured Monday as protestors clashed with the police in Samba town of Jammu and Kashmir over bovine smuggling.

Residents of Samba, 40 km south of Jammu, intercepted a group of bovine smugglers Monday. The word about the incident spread and enraged locals took to the streets, blocking traffic on the Jammu-Pathankot highway and raising slogans against the local administration.

The sporadic clashes between police and protestors continued till late Monday, police sources said.

Protestors pelted stones at the police and also attempted to set vehicles on fire. The police used teargas shells to disperse the violent protestors.

“The authorities are reviewing the situation, our first concern is to bring the situation under control here. There are fears that vested interests may attempt to communalise the situation,” a senior police official told IANS.

Samba had witnessed unprecedented protests during the Amarnath land row agitation in 2008.