Unknown miscreants on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday damaged several gravestones in a graveyard in the Alochi Bagh area of Srinagar, Locals said.
Locals said that the graveyard was attacked by unknown persons in the dark of the night and in the morning when the residents entered the graveyard, they found several epitaphs damaged.
Noor Mohammed Bhat, a local resident said that several deceased from the locality have been buried in the graveyard since 1980. “We do not know who are these people who do not even spare the death. The incident has left everyone in deep shock. We consulted various departments of the Government but they denied any involvement in the incident,” he said.
Expressing anguish over the vandalism, another local said that the graveyard is the resting place for the deceased of more than thirty-one (31) families and said such miscreants shall be severely punished.
The locals asked the LG administration and Police to intervene in the matter and trace those responsible for the vandalism.
Pertinently the epitaphs are used in Kashmir as an identification of a certain grave, in which the name, date of passing away, parentage and address of the deceased is written along with other details.