1 killed in fresh Kashmir clashes

Over 40 hurt as forces fire teargas, pellets at protesters.

Shortly before Union home minister Rajnath Singh arrived here on a two-day visit to review the security in the Kashmir Valley, another youth was killed and more than 40 people were injured in clashes in southern Pulwama district on Wednesday.

With the latest fatality, the death toll from clashes with the security forces has risen to 68. Two policemen had also been killed in mob violence.

Reports said that teenager Amir Gul Mir, a resident of Pulwama’s Ratnipora area, was hit by a teargas canister in the head, and also received multiple pellet wounds, during street clashes which started shortly before dawn after the security forces moved in the area to foil an “aazadi” rally. He was rushed to Srinagar’s Sri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital where he died.

Locals said that Mir had also been injured on February 14, when two locals, Shaista Hameed and Danish Farooq, were killed as security forces fired on protesters at Pulwama’s Lelhar.

Witnesses said the surging crowds took to the streets at 4 am on Wednesday. The security forces quickly swung into action and fired teargas canisters. This led to clashes between the two sides during which pellet guns were also fired, police sources said.

At least 21 people were injured at Pinglina and Gangoo, the two Pulwama neighbourhood areas from where locals had begun a march towards Prichoo to attend the “azaadi” rally. The rest were injured in clashes at Prichoo itself, reports said.

Earlier, a curfew was imposed on Pulwama and neighbouring areas to foil the march to Prichoo.

Reports said that the clashes erupted after people learnt that the venue of the rally has been “vandalised” by the security forces overnight, with banners removed and hoardings and barricades erected on the road to hinder access.

Announcements were made through mosque loudspeakers to spread the word and ask people to assemble at a nearby stadium chosen as an alternate venue for the rally. Police officials said that force was used only after the crowds turned violent and to quell stone-pelting mobs in the area.

Reports from Pulwama also said that two huge protests were held at Dogripora and Turkawangam in neighbouring Shopian during the day. 62 people, including civilians and some security personnel, were injured during the day-long clashes at various places in the twin districts. Several protesters were also injured in clashes in Narabal area in the central district of Budgam, reports said.

The Jammu and Kashmir police, in a statement issued here in the evening, said that eight incidents of stone-pelting were reported from Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts on Wednesday. It said that at Pinglina, Pulwama, “miscreants assembled on a road and started heavy stone-pelting on the police and security forces, who, in order to clear the road and chase the miscreants, were compelled to use some force, causing injuries to a few miscreants.” The statement said that one of the injured, Amir Gul Mir, succumbed to his injuries later, adding, “In this incident a number of police and security forces personnel were also injured.”