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Two more deaths push Kashmir to the edge again
SRINAGAR: Protests erupted in Srinagar and south Kashmir on Wednesday following the death of two young men — one in Srinagar and the other in Pulwama — on Tuesday
SRINAGAR: Protests erupted in Srinagar and south Kashmir on Wednesday following the death of two young men — one in Srinagar and the other in Pulwama — on Tuesday night.
People came out on the roads in Chattabal area of Srinagar’s old city after Reyaz Ahmad Shah, an ATM guard, was found dead under mysterious circumstances near Shri Maharja Hari Singh Hospital.
Protesters alleged that the guard was shot dead by security forces.
Police said he was shot by a pellet gun from close quarters and had a deep wound in his abdomen.
The death comes after a day of some improvement in the situation in Srinagar that saw the movement of pedestrians and private vehicles on the roads on Tuesday.
In south Kashmir, the situation was extremely tense after a civilian was shot dead on Tuesday night by the personal security officer of an additional deputy commissioner (ADC) on the National Highway in Pulwama. Farooq Ahmad was killed when the PSO of Ramban ADC Babu Ram opened fire at a group of people who tried to stop their car in Lethpora area.
Thousands of people participated in Farooq’s funeral on Wednesday after which groups started pelting stones at security forces, who retaliated by firing tear gas shells. The two casualties have taken the death toll in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir to 53. Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and two other militants on July 8.
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