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Mukhtar Ahmad In Srinagar
A report quoting Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinay Katiyar that the holy relic at the Hazratbal shrine was that of a Hindu seer triggered tension in Srinagar on Wednesday.
Katiyar had threatened to approach the judiciary to "challenge the belief of Muslims that the holy hair preserved in the Hazratbal shrine is from the beard of Prophet Mohammed".
"The holy relic belongs to Nimnath Baba, a guru of the Hindus," he was quoted as saying.
The report was carried prominently by all the Srinagar-based dailies on Wednesday.
Angry youths shouting anti-government slogans came out on the streets and pelted stones on police and security forces.
They forced shopkeepers to down their shutters and pelted stones on passing vehicles.
The divisional administration sounded a general alert in the entire Kashmir valley. Police and paramilitary forces were deployed in all major towns.
Tension was palpable in the downtown Srinagar, where locals held a peaceful demonstration.
"We have made elaborate security arrangements in the entire valley," a police officer said.
Leading Supreme Court lawyer and leader of the People's Democratic Party Muzaffar Hussain Beg said he would approach the chief judicial magistrate to "seek prosecution of the VHP leader and BJP MP, Vinay Katiyar".
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