Kashmir clashes continue, toll hits 30

As Kashmir continued to bleed, the death toll in firing by security forces over the past three days touched 30 on Monday and there were reports of more deaths pouring in from the Valley’s south.

The police has only confirmed 23 deaths so far — those of 22 protesters and police driver Afroz Ahmed who on Sunday was pushed into the Jhelum river at Sangam, outside Srinagar, by a mob. The police said it has no record of the remaining deaths.

On Monday, a mob hurled stones at the Indian Air Force station outside Pulwama’s Koil village, 28 km south of here, and also reportedly threw bunches of burning grass inside the premises, but there were no casualties, reports said. On Sunday, five protesters had been injured when security guards at the IAF station entrance had opened fire.

Ten CRPF men were injured in a grenade attack by suspected militants at Nowhatta, in the heart of Srinagar, on Monday evening, police sources said. Sixteen protesters were injured, three of them critically, in CRPF firing after their camp was attacked, allegedly by a mob, at Tral, 42 km south of here, earlier on Monday. Tral is the hometown of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, 22, the “new-age” poster boy of Kashmiri militancy shot dead by security forces during an encounter in Kokernag area of southern Anantnag district on Friday, sparking the current mayhem in the Valley. Two of his aides were also killed in that encounter.

Three others were injured, one of them critically, in police firing on a curfew-defying crowd at Zirpora, outside the highway town of Bijbehara, reports received here said.

A mob reportedly took a police officer hostage at Behibagh in Kulgam district and has demanded the release of three local youth arrested on stone-pelting charges. Efforts were underway to seek the officer’s release.

Over 370 people, including 135 security personnel, have been injured in clashes. Anger against security forces is running high and many police stations and other locations have been attacked by mobs. The latest incidents have occurred in Tral and local police and CRPF personnel have abandoned camps in isolated places in south Kashmir. A report from Pulwama said a security force camp manned by the J&K police’s counter-insurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and CRPF in Litter area of the district was abandoned overnight.

As the number of injured people received at hospitals across the Valley has increased manifold, a medical emergency has been declared at these facilities and the authorities have asked doctors and paramedical staff on leave to resume duty immediately. Also, the Directorate of Health Services has upgraded the night-shift helpline service numbers.

The entire Valley remained under curfew a second consecutive day on Monday. The restrictions initially announced in parts of Srinagar and some towns in south Kashmir on Friday night were extended to remaining areas from Saturday midnight as protests and violence over the killing of Wani claimed more lives.

Opposition National Conference working president and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “HM @rajnathsingh ji spoke to me earlier today. I told him that until security forces exercise maximum restraint & stop killing protesters.this vicious cycle of violence would not stop. Only after the lethal use of force ends can we begin to pull the valley back from the abyss...”

Meanwhile, the police said they have not been able to trace the weaponry — including 35 assorted rifles — missing from a police station in Dalhal Hanjipora area of Kulgam following a mob attack on Saturday. The untraced arms and ammunition include 21 INSAS rifles, 12 SLR rifles, two AK-47 assault rifles, one light machine gun and three carbine machine guns, besides 108 INSAS magazines, six carbine machine gun magazines, 18 SLR magazine, one LMG magazine and five AK-47 magazines, all fully loaded. Officials said it was unclear whether the mob took away the weaponry or some police personnel managed to save these. They added that some sensitive documents, including the police wireless communication code, case diaries and other records, have not been traced either.

Official sources said 800 more security personnel are being flown into Srinagar from Delhi. On Saturday night, 30 companies of Central forces arrived here on chartered flights from Delhi and other places in the country and were quickly deployed across the Valley for law and order duties.

A police spokesman here said incidents of arson and mob attacks have continued in various Valley areas, including in the districts of Kupwara, Baramulla, Srinagar, Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama. Many Srinagar areas, including Hyderpora, Baghat Barzulla, Tengpora, Rambagh, Soura, Lal Bazaar and Hazratbal, witnessed pitched street battles between curfew-defying crowds and security forces. The latter fired teargas canisters and pepper guns and occasionally also used stun grenades to quell stone-throwing mobs. At places in the Valley pellet guns were also used against surging crowds.

The police also said mobs set on fire a police post at the fruit mandi in Sopore and another at Litter in Pulwama. “A number of police establishments were also attacked by hooligans. Police and paramilitary deployments exercised maximum restraint while dealing with the situations,” it said. It claimed that at Zirpora, militants targeted the J&K police and CRPF with rifle fire, injuring three persons. The police added that it organised a blood donation camp in view of the prevailing situation. More than 60 pints of blood came from police officers and jawans “who volunteered to donate the blood”.

A report from Jammu said the Amarnath yatra resumed on Monday evening after remaining suspended for about three days. “A batch of 3,500 pilgrims left from Bagwatinagar transit camp for the base camps of the shorter Baltal and traditional Pahalgam routes to the cave-shrine in the Kashmir hills,” deputy commissioner (Jammu) Simrandeep Singh said.

Almost all separatist leaders continued to remain in preventive custody or under house arrest. In a joint decision announced on Monday, they extended the strike call issued to mourn and protest the killing of Wani for two more days (Tuesday and Wednesday) in view of the killing of protesters. Internet services on mobile phones and through dongles remain suspended. Internet services are, however, functioning on fixed broadband lines. Train services between Baramulla in northwest Kashmir and Banihal town, across the Pirpanjal mountain ridge in Jammu division, remained suspended for the third consecutive day Monday whereas the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education, Kashmir University and Central University, Kashmir have cancelled all examinations scheduled for this week.

Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday again sought the “wholehearted” cooperation of the people towards restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley “to prevent further loss of precious lives and destruction of public and private properties”. She said the government is taking various measures to restore calm and it needs support of the people. “I appeal to all sections of society, including political leaders, media, religious heads, the business community and prominent citizens, to rise to the occasion and help the government in restoring peace and normalcy in Kashmir...”

She said the J&K police and paramilitary forces have been asked to exercise maximum restraint to avoid loss of lives or grievous injuries. “My heart goes out to the families of the youth, including the civilians and the policeman, who lost their lives in the latest spate of violence. We have already lost a generation to bloodshed and violence and can’t afford to live amidst prevailing political uncertainties with young boys getting killed every day,” she said, alleging that some elements are hell-bent on fomenting trouble in Kashmir for their vested interests and are instigating innocent youth to indulge in extreme violence.

Ms Mufti, in an attempt to reach out to the families of the deceased, said, “Ironically, it is only the parents and other immediate family members of these ill-fated youth who have to live with the life-long trauma of losing their near and dear ones to this senseless violence.” She added, “We will try to work out a mechanism to ensure secure and dignified living for the kith and kin of the victims of violence so that their families don’t have to run from pillar to post to live a normal life... it is the responsibility of the government to reach out to such families.”