Residents allege 15 houses razed during Naw Kadal gunfight by goverenment forces

Srinagar, May 19: Scores of people, whose houses were damaged in the fierce gunfight at Nawa Kadal area of downtown Srinagar Tuesday alleged that at least 15 houses were burnt to ground and that their cash, gold and LPG cylinders were also stolen by the forces personnel during the gunfight.

Rummaging through the rubble to find whether her gold items were safe, a woman wailed and screamed in desperation allegeing that forces personnel have stolen her cash, gold and even LPG cylinders from her house besides razing it to the ground.

“See what they did to us. They used explosives to bring down at least 15 houses,” she said.

Joining by many others, whose houses were damaged in the gunfight, locals of Nawa Kadal alleged that 15 houses were completely damaged while five others also suffered partial damage.

“They wreaked havoc here. Besides damaging our homes, they stole goods too and even LPG cylinders also,” said an elderly man sitting on the rubble of his house.

A series of videos went viral on social media showing many houses turned into a heaps of rubble and also thick smoke emanating from the houses where militants were hiding.

However, a top police official said that only three to four houses were damaged in the gunfight as militants kept on changing locations from one house to another.

On the allegations of theft, he said that police is a professional force and doesn’t indulge in such acts.

Earlier, the gunfight left two militants including Hizb Commander Junaid Sehrai dead while three forces personnel sustained injuries.—(KNO)