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Fresh wave of clashes rocks Valley
SRINAGAR: The arrival of an all-party delegation in Kashmir on Sunday triggered a fresh wave of violence in the Valley as protesters breached the curfew and clashed
SRINAGAR: The arrival of an all-party delegation in Kashmir on Sunday triggered a fresh wave of violence in the Valley as protesters breached the curfew and clashed with security forces.
Officials said over 150 people were injured in the ensuing violence, as forces used pellets and tear gas to control the raging mobs.
The delegation had reached Kashmir with an aim to bring an end to the unrest that has gripped the Valley since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.
Although authorities had imposed a curfew in the Valley, protesters took to the streets demanding“freedom” from India.
South Kashmir’s Shopian district witnessed maximum violence, including an incident in which protesters set ablaze a building that housed the office of the deputy commissioner.
Health officials said over 50 people were injured in the district’s Pinjura village after forces fired pellets and tear gas shells at protesters. In neighbouring Anantnag district, security personnel foiled a pro-freedom rally, which triggered clashes between them and protesters. The region’s chief medical officer, Dr Fazil Kochak, said 32 people were admitted in various hospitals of the district after Sunday’ s violence.
Reports of civilians getting injured continued to trickle in from different parts of the Valley. The residents of south Kashmir’s Tral claimed that 60 people were wounded after security forces fired pellets near the revered shrine of Shah-e- Hamadan (RA).
A police spokesman, however, said a mob in the area had initiated the clash after pelting security forces with stones. “Some of the miscreants entered a shrine when they were chased away and again started hurling stones from its compound. Police are cautiously handling the situation,” he said.
In another incident, a mob torched the house of a local Peoples Democratic Party leader in Kulgam district. The protesters held the leader responsible for facilitating chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s visit to the area on Saturday to offer condolences to a man whose son was killed in the violence.
