Four persons were injured when security forces opened fire on protesters in Shopian district of South Kashmir on Sunday even as authorities imposed curfew in Srinagar and other districts in North Kashmir in the wake of a protest call by separatists.
The police said soldiers cordoned off Nagbal village in Shopian, 55 km from Srinagar, in the morning following a tip-off about the presence of some militants in the area.
“The villagers were asked to assemble for an identification parade. Army troops then picked up boys and started beating them. The enraged villagers started to raise slogans and throw stones at the troops,” said an eyewitness who did not wish to be named.
The police, however, denied the allegation and said they were looking for militants.
“But the situation got out of control and the soldiers had to fire in self-defence,” Shopian SP Shahid Meraj said. Curfew was clamped in Srinagar, Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara after a protest call by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.