J&K erupts again as youth killed in firing

Massive protests and inte-nse street clashes erupted in the Valley on Wednesday after another youth was killed in firing by the security forces in Ladoora, Nadihal area of north-western Baramulla district.

Five other civilians were injured in the firing, three of them critically. Nearly 200 people were injured in fresh clashes elsewhere during the day, reports said.

Protests were held and clashes took places in southern Pulwama town, at four places — Siligam, Butrus, Khudwani and Katrasoo — in Kulgam district, Arhama in Shopian, Kaloosa and Bandipore town in Bandipore, Sopore in Baramulla, Srinagar and in half-a-dozen other areas, including in Anantnag district. At a few places, these were still going on at the time of filing this report.

A report from Kulgam stated that a huge crowd of people, returning from an “aazadi” rally held in the Butrus area of the district, attacked and torched the ancestral house of ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Rajya Sabha member Nazir Ahmed Lawey. An adjacent multi-storey building, which houses a branch of Punjab National Bank, also caught fire, witnesses said, adding that the mob snatched the weapons of the bank guards before leaving the place.

No one was present at the legislator’s house at Chawa-lgam when the attack took place, police sources said.

Locals said that people were angry because the sec-urity forces had earlier during the day raided the ven-ue of a planned “aazadi” rally and used force against those gathered there.

“People resisted the security forces and eventually held the rally and later, while returning, attacked the MP’s house,” a resident said over phone.

A report said that the mob also torched the police guardroom within the MP’s property and that the policemen were forced to flee, leaving behind their weapons.

Authorities, however, have not confirmed it. Former chief minister and Opposition NC leader Omar Abdullah Tweeted, “PDP RS MP’s house set on fire. Weapons reportedly looted after guards run away. Far from getting better, things have taken an ugly turn today.”

Eighteen-year-old Danish Manzoor Lone was killed and five others were injured when the security forces opened fire on protesters at Ladoora-Nadihal outside the town of Sopore, about 45 km northwest of here early Wednesday.

Reports said that protests erupted in the twin villages after the security forces allegedly denied passage to fruit-laden trucks in the area. The residents alleged that earlier during the intervening night of August 30 and 31, Army troops raided and ransacked homes and thrashed inmates. When the residents protested the “high-handedness”, they clashed with another security force, which opened fire, killing and injuring violent protesters, reports added.

Three seriously injured youth were admitted to a hospital in Srinagar.

Police sources said that the security forces tried to stop protesters from marching on the road passing through the village and retaliated by firing bullets and shotgun pellets when they hurled rocks at them.

However, Kashmir’s divisional commissioner, Mr Baseer Khan, said in a statement here that as per a report from the police, a 900-strong mob attacked an Army convoy at Ladoora, Rafiabad and amidst stone pelting some shots were fired at the Army convoy, which was on way to Kupwara. “The Army fired some rounds in the air to disperse the mob. In the incident four persons were injured and one of the injured, identified as Danish Manzoor Lone, succumbed to his injuries,” he said, adding that police has taken up investigations.

Later during the day, large number of people attended Lone’s funeral. The mourners placed a Pakistani flag next to a wooden bunk on which the slain youth’s body was placed before a cleric led his janaza prayer, witnesses said.

Another Pakistani flag covered his body as the pallbearers carried it to a nearby cemetery for burial. This, the locals told visiting reporters, represented their “hopes and aspirations”.

With Wednesday’s fatal injury, the death toll during the ongoing unrest in the Valley has risen to 71.

Two policemen have also died in mob violence whereas about 7,000 civilians and 4,000 - 4,500 security personnel have been injured in the nearly eight-week-old turbulence.

Reports received here stated that while pro-freedom protests were already underway at several areas in the Valley, many other places also erupted after people heard about the killing of the youth at Ladoora-Nadihal.

One such protest was held in Srinagar when thousands of residents assembled at the Grand Mosque and chanting pro-freedom slogans, began marching towards the city centre. After covering a distance of about two kilometres, they were confronted by J&K police and the CRPF. Clashes followed during which scores of people were injured.

Two photojournalists, Mr Farooq Javed Khan and Mr Waseem Andrabi, also sustained injuries while covering the clashes.

Security forces fired teargas canisters and pellet guns to quell similar protests and stone-hurling mobs at several other places on.

In the backdrop of Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s recent comment that the youth of Kashmir should, instead of stones, have laptops in their hands, dozens of youth showed a unique way of protest by marching along the streets of Palhalan township in Baramulla district with their laptops.

“We just wanted to convey to the Indian government that we are not illiterate or boorish but educated and most of us are graduates and post-graduates; yet we are out on the streets to protest and ask for,” one of them told local reporters.

At Nutnusa in the frontier district of Kupwara, a 1500-strong mob attacked police pickets set up to provide security to a cluster of houses of minority Kashmiri Pandits.

This led to a clash between stone-pelting youth and the policemen, reports said.

Mr Khan meanwhile said that following the “improvement in overall situation”, curfew was lifted from all areas of Kashmir Valley on Wednesday. “Curfew was today lifted from Nowhatta and Maharjgunj police station areas of Srinagar. With this curfew has now been lifted from entire Kashmir as no area in any district of the Valley is under restrictions,” he said. He also said that “increased movement of vehicular traffic and public was witnessed on Wednesday in almost all towns and major areas and Srinagar city as well” and that “barring stray stone pelting incidents the situation remained peaceful across the Valley.”

The Kashmir Valley has been on the on the boil since July 8 in the aftermath of the killing of militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. Though curfew has been lifted from entire Valley, shutdowns in response to separatists’ “protest calendar” and protests and clashes have continued, throwing life out of gear.

On Wednesday Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti closeted with Governor N.N. Vohra at Raj Bhavan for about one hour during which the Kashmir situation was discussed. They also discussed the forthcoming visit of an all-party delegation to the Valley and various important matters relating to the “urgent restoration of peace and normalcy” in Kashmir, official sources said.

The all-party delegation to be led by Union home minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to arrive here on a two-day visit on September 4.

A defence spokesman here said that Northern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, also called on the Governor to discuss the prevailing situation. “The Governor was apprised of the measures taken by the Army along the Line of Control (LoC) and hinterland to ensure security as also to restore normalcy,” the spokesman said.

Let. Gen. Hooda is on a daylong visit of the restive Valley, his second in the past two weeks.