Uma Bharti held in violence-hit Jammu

Jammu, August 2 (ANI): Bharatiya Janshakti Party leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti was reportedly held on Saturday in the violence-hit and curfew re-imposed Jammu region, while Sadhivi Ritambhara was sent back.

According to reports, Bharti arrived at Jammu airport this morning from New Delhi and was scheduled to address a press conference here. The police took her into custody. She was later taken to Udhampur District.

Meanwhile, another Hindu leader Sadhivi Ritambhara has not been allowed to enter Jammu. It is believed that she was sent back to Delhi from Jammu airport itself.

Senior Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley too was stopped by the police at the airport for over an hour before being allowed to go to the party's headquarters in the city.

Visits by these right-wing leaders to Jammu come in the wake of a month-long Hindu agitation over the State Government's revocation of an order to transfer about 100 acres of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) for it to build temporary shelter for pilgrims.

The intensity of the agitation has forced the State Government to impose curfew and call the Army in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir in order to ensure that no further violent protest takes place in the region.

Meanwhile, curfew was re-imposed in Jammu after two persons were killed on Friday in Samba town as violence continued over the controversial cancellation of forestland allotted to SASB.

Meanwhile, the Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, a conglomerate of 35 political, social and religious organisations, fighting for the restoration of land to the SASB declared that its talks with the State Governor N.N. Vohra had failed.

On July 1, the State Government had withdrawn its May 26 order to allocate 40 hectare of land to the shrine board following massive Muslim street protests against the order. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had to resign over the issue following his Government's failure to win a trust vote in the State Assembly. (ANI)