Restrictions in Srinagar as separatists call shutdown

Authorities today imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar city to thwart any protests by separatists, who had called for a shutdown against the killing of a civilian allegedly in security forces firing on protestors in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Restrictions under section 144 of CrPC were imposed in five police station areas -- Khanyar, Maharajgunj, Nowhatta, Safakadal and Rainawari -- as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, a police official said.

Meanwhile, normal life was affected across the Valley due to the strike.

Schools and other educational institutions remained closed while attendance in government offices was thin due to lack of public transport, the official said.

Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, including a Pakistani national, were killed in an encounter while the civilian died and 20 others sustained injuries during clashes with security forces near the scene of a gunbattle in Shopian yesterday.