A 23-year-old youngster was killed after intense clashes erupted between protesters and security forces at Vessu village in Qazigund area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Saturday evening. Dozens of clashes took place across Kashmir Valley on the 57th consecutive day when normal life has remained crippled due to curfew, restrictions and separatist-sponsored shutdown.
Sources said that massive protest demonstrations erupted in Qazigund region after the reports that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had visited the area to offer condolences to the family of a youngster killed by the security forces during the current unrest. One such demonstration was going on in Vessu village where paramilitaries chased away the protesters and fired pellets on them.
Basit Ahangar (23) was hit by pellets in his legs and while fleeing he fell in a nullah and received grievous head injury. Several other people sustained injuries in the clashes, many hit with pellets.
With this killing, the death toll has reached 72 that includes 70 civilians and two policemen since the start of the ongoing unrest a day after militant commander Burhan Wani was killed on July 08 in south Kashmir.
Reports said about 100 persons were injured in south, north and central Kashmir areas. A police statement issued this evening said that 12 incidents of stone-pelting were reported from Srinagar, Budgam, Anantnag, Sopore and Kupwara today.
The normal life remained affected across Kashmir on the 57th consecutive day across Kashmir. The curfew continued in areas under five (Nowhatta, Maharaj Gunj, Safa Kadal, Rainawari and Khanyar) police stations in sensitive old city and areas under Batmaloo and Maisuma police stations in uptown Srinagar. The restrictions under Sec 144 also remained in force in all the district headquarters and towns in south, north and central Kashmir.
The police and paramilitary force personnel had been deployed in strength to maintain law and order in view of separatists’ call for complete shutdown and specifically block Airport Road, lal Chowk and district headquarters for today and tomorrow. The separatists’ have extended the shutdown programme till September 08.
While sparse private transport plied in city and other roads, the public transport remained off the roads. Shops, business establishments, educational institutions remained closed and trading activities completely suspended on the 57th consecutive day.
While less number of employees and bank employees attending to duties in Srinagar, the majority of the government employees across Kashmir did not attend to their duties. All essential services have been exempted from the ongoing shutdown programme called by the separatists.