Two civilians including a female university student died and seven others were wounded when security forces allegedly opened fire in a village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district to quell a mob during a raging encounter with militants. One local lashkar-e-Tayyeba (leT) militant died in the encounter. The killings triggered massive protests in the area and separatist groups called for a protest shutdown on Monday.
Police said one civilian died with shell injury while the lady was hit by a bullet during the exchange of fire. A case has been registered to investigate the incident. Sources said a group of militants was passing through Kharpora pocket of Kakapora village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday afternoon when a column of local army unit chased them. The army had received input on the movement of militants in the area, sources said.
They said that militants took positions and soon a fierce gun-battle triggered in the area. While a militant engaged security forces, dozens of civilians, mostly youngsters, gathered at the encounter site. They shouted slogans and attempted to create a situation for safe passage of militants.
The army and security forces fired teargas shells to chase away the protesters. They later opened fire to control the situation. Eyewitnesses said that several protesters were hit by bullets. The 25-year-old Maulana Azad National Urdu University student Shaista Hamid was in the compound of her house when a bullet killed her.