Violence spirals in Kashmir

Three more protesters killed in police firing during clashes

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday evening, Abdullah said his government would take all necessary steps to maintain law and order.

“We have imposed curfew on some areas and would extend it to other places also as the situation demands.  Anti-national elements and vested interests have got united to create trouble and are exploiting youth, who resort to stone throwing on police and security forces. The men in uniform are forced to open fire,” the chief minister said.

Abdullah’s statements are being seen as a damage-control exercise after senior National Conference leader and Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar blamed the CRPF of killing innocent civilians which led to a confrontation with Centre on the issue.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai, however, justified the CRPF’s actions, claiming that those who died in the firing were not innocent civilians but people who took part in throwing  stones at jawans of the paramilitary force.

Home Ministry sources did not rule out “interested elements stage-managing” the attack on the CRPF. Earlier last week, the ministry had warned of a possibility of “disturbances” on the eve of Home Minister P Chidambaram’s visit to Pakistan.

As deaths in alleged CRPF firing escalated — in the last four days, five boys died in firings — violence spread to south Kashmir and more towns in the Valley were put under curfew. In some parts like Sopore, the Army was called in to restore order. In all, 11 youths have died in the last three weeks.

Police identified the killed as Ishfaq Ahmed Khanday (15), Imtiyaz Ahmad Itoo (17) and Shujatul Islam (19).

The victims were part of a mob hurling stones at CRPF personnel in Anchidoora in Anantnag town, 55 km from here, police said. Two persons received bullet wounds in the incident and were rushed to S K Institute of Medical Sciences here, police sources said. While Khanday and Itoo were killed on the spot, Islam died on the way to hospital.
Locals alleged that the CRPF personnel barged into the houses and shops while chasing a  mob protesting against the rise in killings by security forces and shot the victims from close range inside a house and a bakery shop.

They said the two were rushed to District Hospital where doctors declared them brought dead.

As the news of death of two teenagers spread, more people poured on to the streets, setting ablaze three CRPF vehicles at Khannabal-Pahalgam road in the town, sources said. This is the second firing in Anantnag town on Tuesday.

Bhat was rushed to Bones and Joint Hospital in Barzullah here for treatment. Besides Bhat, 20 others, including ten policemen, were injured in day-long clashes in the town.
Fresh clashes also broke out in parts of Srinagar and Baramulla leaving 13 people injured.

Undeclared curfew was also imposed on Srinagar and in some parts of Civil Lines area. The CRPF and police are enforcing curfew restrictions but the Army has been kept stand by. Curfew will be extended to more areas on Wednesday.

In view of the violence, mobile services in north Kashmir and SMS service in the entire Valley were blocked on the state government’s instructions.