SRINAGAR: Two boys were killed and 70 persons, including 23 policemen, injured and two dozen vehicles damaged as violence and protests against the controversial allotment of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) spread to other parts of the Kashmir valley on Wednesday. A spontaneous strike affected life in the valley for the third consecutive day.
In Mazhama village on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road, Wednesday’s protests took an ugly turn when the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) opened fire on demonstrators killing an 18-year-old student, Farooq Ahmad Rather, and injuring two others.
Locals said the police fired indiscriminately on the protesters. The police, however, said the agitators blocked the road, and a scuffle followed when the police tried to remove them. The police then opened fire. The boy, who was on the first floor of his house, was hit by a stray bullet. An official said a policeman was injured and was in a critical condition.
More people then came out on the streets to protest. The area is reportedly tense and top police officers are camping at Magam, the nearby town.
Hours after this, CRPF opened fire on protesters in the Fateh Kadal area of downtown Srinagar in which a boy, Samir Ahmad, was killed. Witnesses said CRPF personnel opened fire on the demonstrators. Samir, who was hit, was rushed to hospital where he died. Thousands of people later took to the streets raising slogans.
The violent protests regained momentum in adjoining areas after this incident. The residents have refused to bury the body and threatened to intensify the agitation.
Earlier in the day, violent protests rocked the entire city. Even the Civil Lines, usually unaffected by strikes and protests, witnessed demonstrations and roadblocks. Tyres were burnt and stone-throwing continued throughout the day.
In pitched battles between the police and the protesters in Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Baramulla, Handwara, Chadoora, Ganderbal, Bandipore, Kulgam and Shopian, over 70 people, including three Station House Officers and 20 other policemen, were injured. Reports said 27 vehicles were damaged in the violence.
Police and para-military forces used batons and tear-gas in Rajbagh, Nowhatta, Nawakadal, Jamalatta, Hazratbal, Lal Bazar, Parimpora, Ali Kadal and other localities in Srinagar to disperse the mobs.
The situation in the north Kashmir district of Ganderbal remained volatile as protesters again blocked the Srinagar-Baltel cave shrine route for the second consecutive day.
The joint action committee comprising bar associations, chambers of commerce and industry and trader groups staged a sit-in protesting against the controversial order here. Led by KCCI president Mubeen Shah, they demanded revocation of the order.
A general strike hit life for the third consecutive day as shops and business establishments remained closed and traffic was off the roads. Educational institutions were also closed and attendance in government offices was thin.
Police put senior Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Shabir Ahmad Shah under house arrest, while Jamiat Ahladees chief Showkat Shah, chairman of Joint Action Committee for SASB Land Transfer Mian Abdul Qayoom, Traders’ Federation leaders Sadiq Baqal and Farooq Baktoo, Transport Union leader G.M. Bhat, Democratic Political Movement leader Firdous Shah and scores of other political leaders were arrested from their houses.
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