Fresh Clashes Wound Dozens In Kashmir
While A Wounded Boy Dies
By Sheikh Imran Bashir
19 August, 2010
Agence India Press
Srinagar: Eight people including two girls got wounded one of them critical when police and CRPF troopers opened fired on a protest march at Soura on the city outskirts.
According to locals, after Zuhr Nimaz (second prayer of day) hundreds of people including children and women took to the streets to stage a peaceful protest. However, they were stopped at Soura by police.
“Police opened dozens of tear smoke shells and bullets at protestors,” an eye-witness said.
All the three were taken to the nearby Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura (SKIMS) where doctors operated upon Sumeera whose condition is still stated to be critical as she sustained a bullet injury in the chest, attending doctors at SKIMS said.
Medical Superintendent SKIMS, Dr Tabish told Agence India Press that eight injured people have been admitted in the hospital. “Five of them have been beaten to pulp while three others including two girls had received bullet injuries. Among the injured is a 17-year-old girl, Sumera.
She has bullet injuries in her abdomen and lungs,” Tabish said. “Her condition is critical.”
“As the mob could not be controlled by baton charges and tear smoke canisters, the CRPF personnel fired, injuring eight people including two women with bullet injuries,” police here said.
In Rainwari and Dalgate area of the city, a large number of people defied curfew to stage sit-ins and protests.
In Sopore, At least four people were injured at Seelo, when Rapid Action Force opened fire on them when they were holding a protest demonstration.
Locals claim that some youth also lobbed bricks and stones at RAF. The RAF in return opened rubber bullets. “Four youth received rubber bullet injuries. They were shifted to hospital where all of them are stated to be stable,” they said.
Police said after normal crowd control measures failed, the security forces had to use rubber bullets in which four protesters sustained injuries. Doctors described the condition of all the four as out of danger.
Earlier in the day, eight-year-old Milat Ahmad Dar succumbed to injuries in SKIMS where he had been admitted on last Saturday in a critical condition.
Reports here said the boy was playing with his friends in Harnagh village when a bullet fired by security men on August 14 hit him.
“The boy was not part of the protesting mob at all. He had come to his mother’s ancestral Harnagh village from Wanpora village near Koimoh town in Kulgam district.
Thousands of people attend the funeral of Milad Ahmed at Khodwani in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Scores of people from various villages took to the streets to participate in the funeral of Milad.
The death of the boy evoked widespread anger in south Kashmir and authorities had to enforce strict curfew restrictions in Koimoh, Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama areas.
Police on Thursday said that protesters pelted stones on Carwan -e-Aman buses which were on way to Srinagar from Uri at Sangrama in north Kashmir.
“Both the buses were damaged,” a police spokesman said.
Another curfew day paralyzed life in the valley. Authorities were imposed curfew in Srinagar and north Kashmir's Sopore town while strict restrictions was in place in Baramulla, Handwara, Kupwara and Pulwama, Koimoh and Anantnag towns of the valley.
According to Agence India Press city reporter police and paramilitary forces were deployed in large numbers to enforce curfew and restrictions mainly in old city.
As the shutdown called on Thursday by the Hurriyat group headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani all Shops, businesses, educational institutions, banks and post offices were shut while public transport went off the roads in all major towns.
Meanwhile, a gusul ceremony (Cleaning) of historical Hazratbal shrine was performed before Zuhar prayers after desecrated by armed police last week.
As per the agreement made earlier in presence of Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar and said spokesman of J&K Muslim Waqf Board.
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