A Panchayat Bhawan was allegedly set on fire in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Monday night.
“The Panchayat Bhawan caught fire last night. It seems it was set on fire. We are investigating, it has not yet been ascertained as to who did it or how it happened,” ANI quoted Dy Commissioner of Shopian Owais Ahmad as saying.
It is pertinent to mention here that on Monday the separatist groups appealed to the people to boycott the upcoming Panchayat and urban local body polls in the state.
The separatists, under the banner of the Joint Resistance Leaders (JRL), comprising Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that any electoral process was not a substitute to the right to self-determination.
They urged to the "freedom-loving people" of J&K to observe a complete boycott.
