One More Civilian Shot Dead In Kashmir

By Countercurrents.org

15 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org

One more civilian was killed and five more were injured on Friday as angry residents clashed with security forces amid simmering anger over four similar deaths since Tuesday in a tense but curfewed Kashmir Valley.

The protestors were demonstrating outside an army camp in Natnusa village of border district Kupwara when soldiers opened fire to stop them from marching in. Five protestors were injured, one of the them died in a hospital later. Three critically injured shifted to Srinagar. Police identified the deceased as Mohammed Aarif, a resident of the north Kashmir district which has been at the epicentre of fresh unrest in the valley.

The demonstrators were protesting against deaths of four civilians in firing and tear gas shelling by security forces since Tuesday.

Protests were also held in other parts of the valley even as the streets were patrolled by gun-toting police and paramilitary personnel to ensure prohibitory orders were not violated and peace is maintained in more volatile parts of Srinagar, north and south of the valley. Cellphone internet connectivity remained snapped for the second day.

There was a near-total response to the shutdown call as shops, schools, colleges, offices and other businesses in areas where restrictions had not been imposed remained closed. Public transport was also off the roads in the valley.

The trouble erupted after allegations that an army soldier molested a college girl in Handwara on Tuesday.