Srinagar: Nine persons were injured today as
people defying restrictions hurled stones at security forces
in two districts of Jammu and Kashmir prompting them to open
fire while the Valley remained largely peaceful despite a call
by separatists for a protest march.
The day-long clashes which took place at Kreeri in
Baramulla district where people were protesting against the
alleged "custodial death" of a youth and at Konibal in Pulwama
district, left nine persons injured out of which two have
received bullets and are undergoing treatment at different
hospitals, officials said.
Five persons including two policemen were injured in the
clashes during which police fired warning shots, burst teargas
shells and used batons, the sources said adding one of the
injured identified as Fayaz Ahmad was hit by a bullet and his
condition was stated to be "stable".
Similar clashes were reported from Konibal in Pulwama
district when people tried to march towards the curfew-bound
Pampore town. Four persons were injured in the clashes and one
of them Tariq Ahmad Bhat, who was hit by a bullet in the right
shoulder, was admitted in SMHS hospital, the sources said.
As the day started, thousands of people joined the
funeral procession of 19-year-old Syed Fark Bukhari at Kreeri,
35 kms from here. The body of Bukhari, who went missing
allegedly while in police custody since July 28, was recovered
from a nearby stream last evening.
Although police registered a "murder" case and assured
"professional and transparent" investigation in the case, the
locals clashed with police and paramilitary forces shortly
after laying the deceased to rest.
However, in the rest of the Valley, police and
paramilitary forces strictly enforced curfew and restrictions
to scuttle the attempts by separatists to take out a march.
Hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed
Ali Shah Geelani, which is spearheading the ongoing agitation
for withdrawal of troops from the valley, had called for a
march to Pampore, 16 kms from here, in connection with the
second death anniversary of slain People`s League chairman
Sheikh Abdul Aziz.
Fearing trouble, the authorities placed Geelani under
house arrest last evening as a preventive measure and also
extended the curfew, which is imposed in Sriangar for the past
two days, to Pampore, Kakapora and Pulwama in South and Sopore
in North besides asking police and paramilitary forces to
strictly enforce restrictions in other towns of the Valley.
"Curfew continues in Srinagar district, Pulwama,
Shopian, Pampore and Sopore towns", Inspector General of
Police Farooq Ahmad said.
The security personnel were maintaining a vigil as
barricades were placed to restrict movement in certain
places, the sources said.
Life in Kashmir Valley continued to remain disrupted
as shops and business establishments, educational institutions
and private offices remained closed and public transport was
off the roads.
PTI
