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Kashmir IGP denies media reports on firing in valley

Last Updated 11 August 2019, 11:04 IST

As the Jammu and Kashmir lockdown continues following the abrogation of Article 370 earlier this week, the Inspector General of Police of Kashmir on Sunday took to Twitter to deny media reports highlighting instances of firing in the Valley.

"This is to clarify some international media reports regarding firing incident in the Valley. The report is wrong. No such incident has taken place in the Valley," said Swayam Prakash Pani, IGP, Kashmir range in a video posted by the official Twitter account of the Kashmir Zone Police as their media statement.

He added that the Valley had remained largely peaceful over the last week and asked the media agencies to act responsibly.

The media, international and national, has been replete with stories talking about the prevailing situation in the state amid the lockdown, curfew, and protests.

On Sunday, The New York Times, quoting witnesses, reported about a Friday afternoon protest -- 'Tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators were moving through the streets of Srinagar, chanting freedom slogans and waving Kashmiri flags, when Indian forces opened fire'. The article titled 'Inside Kashmir, Cut Off From the World: ‘A Living Hell’ of Anger and Fear' further said -- 'Sustained bursts of automatic weapon fire could be heard in videos filmed during the protest, and at least seven people were wounded, hospital officials said, some sprayed by buckshot in the eyes.'

In a separate article titled 'As Modi Addresses India, Protests Flare in Kashmir,' on Friday, the NYT claimed that in several areas, Kashmiris pelted security officers with stones and the officers fired back, stating reports of some demonstrators getting killed. Quoting rights activists, the article also mentioned that more than 500 people were detained during nighttime raids across Kashmir and taken to makeshift detention centers.

Reuters, on Saturday, reported that the Indian police on Friday had used 'tear gas and pellets to fight back at least 10,000 people protesting Delhi's withdrawal of special rights for Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir state in its main city of Srinagar,' quoting a police official and two witnesses.

On the domestic front, news website The Wire published a story titled 'Ground Report | Pellet Blindings Back as Protestors Challenge Centre's Kashmir Move' which stated that at least 21 young men and boys were admitted in Srinagar's Sri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital following pellet injuries in the first three days after the Modi government announcement. The story carried pictures and videos to substantiate its claim.

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(Published 11 August 2019, 09:14 IST)

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