A 70-year-old man was killed and 24 people were injured in a grenade attack in a crowded market in Srinagar’s city centre on Sunday.

Of the injured, 23 are civilians and one a policeman.

A police spokesman called it a terror act and said the condition of an injured girl was critical.

The place was packed with shoppers when militants hurled a grenade towards a police and security force deployment at Hari Singh High Street. The grenade missed the target and exploded amid a crowd.

Several people lay injured on the road before local residents and security forces rushed them to hospitals.

Police identified the deceased as Mohammad Aslam Makhdoomi, a resident of old city’s Nowhatta locality. He died on the spot.

The Hari Singh High Street area has been cordoned off and a hunt launched for the attackers, the police spokesman said.

There was a lot of rush in the capital city with thousands flocking to the Sunday market and examination centres.

The authorities had imposed restrictions on the assembly of more than five people under 144 of the CrPC outside the centres where a local recruitment board was holding exams. It is not clear whether any candidate was injured in the attack.

The attack was widely condemned by politicians.

“Condemn this dastardly attack. People of J&K have been paying with their lives & sadly neither India nor Pakistan are doing anything to end the conflict & stop this bloodshed. My prayers are with the bereaved families & loved ones,” former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.

“I condemn this deplorable attack in the strongest possible terms. May the deceased find place in Jannat & may the injured make a complete and speedy recovery,” tweeted Omar Abdullah.

Srinagar has witnessed a spate of attacks despite claims by security forces that they have killed a number of hardcore militants in encounters.