Srinagar – Protests broke out in the Dooru Shahabad area of Anantnag on Wednesday morning after robbers looted a major Sufi shrine and tried to set it ablaze.
Reports said that the robbers had broken a wooden chest holding offerings from pilgrims, and made off with the cash and valuables after setting it ablaze.
The robbery at the Khanaqah-e-Naqshband which holds sacred keepsakes from Hazrat Shah-e-Hamadan and has the grave site of celebrated Kashmiri poet Rasul Mir in its compound was carried out at around dawn.
But the arson bid, which could have inflicted heavy damage on the wood-constructed shrine, was foiled by a watchman who raised an alarm bringing locals in large numbers to the scene.
According to reports, some security guards in the vicinity also opened fire on detecting shadowy figures fleeing into the darkness.
The firing brought forces personnel to the scene who also joined locals in searching for the robbers.
Later, protestors halted traffic on the main road, demanding swift unmasking of the culprits.
This was the fourth place of worship to be targeted in Kashmir in the recent months during which the renowned shrine of Hazrat Dastgeer Sahib in Srinagar was gutted in June, and dargah destroyed in Budgam later. Observer News Service
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