Srinagar deputy mayor allegedly assaulted by corporators

The Srinagar Municipal Corporation's deputy mayor was injured Monday after he was allegedly assaulted by corporators inside the civic body's building here, as he alleged the attack was carried out at the behest of the mayor. Sheikh Imran was attacked after an argument broke out between him and a group of corporators over the functioning of the civic body this morning, an aide of Imran said.

"The deputy mayor was assaulted by the corporators. He was injured and had to be rushed to a hospital," he said. An official at the Shaheed Gunj police station said they have taken cognizance of the incident and an investigation is underway.

Addressing a press conference later in the day, Imran alleged that the attack on him by the corporators was carried out at the behest of Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu. "I have been targeted right from the beginning for raising my voice against corruption, exploitation and injustice. The RSS and BJP corporators carried out the attack at the behest of the mayor," he said.

Imran said he along with supporting corporators will fight the "Hindutva elements" in the civic body and such attacks will not deter them from their "mission of fighting corruption, exploitation and injustice". He appealed to Governor Satya Pal Malik and the state chief secretary to investigate the incident to bring forth the truth.

Imran, who won the civic body polls as an independent candidate, was elected as the deputy mayor with the backing of the Congress. The corporation has seen several controversies in the short span of two months with a female corporator levelling allegations of sexual harassment against BJP-backed Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu last month.