Mourners clash with Indian police in disputed Kashmir
Scuffles have broken out between angry protesters and Indian security forces during the funeral of a young civilian man gunned down in a police shootout in the disputed Indian-controlled Kashmir.
On Tuesday morning, hundreds of people gathered in Palhallan area of Baramulla district to mourn the death of 19-year-old Farooq Ahmed Bhat and participate in his funeral.
The mourners chanted “Go India, Go back!” and “We want freedom” as they laid Bhat to rest at a local graveyard.
Violence erupted as angry protesters hurled stones at law enforcement officials to vent their anger at the killing, calling on them to leave the region.
The security forces fired tear gas canisters to break up the protest and disperse the crowd. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Bhat was killed on Monday evening in a demonstration held to mark the second anniversary of the secret execution of a pro-independence leader, Mohammad Afzal Guru.
Two years ago, Indian authorities hanged Guru in a secret jail in New Delhi. Kashmiris still insist that the freedom-seeking leader was never given a fair trial after he was accused of involvement in an attack on Indian parliament in 2001, which left 14 people killed.
India and neighboring Pakistan have been engaged in a serious dispute over Kashmir since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947. The arch-rivals lay claim to the whole region but each of them only controls a section of it.
The two countries agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control in 2003, and a year later launched talks aimed at brokering a regional peace.
The process was, however, suspended after over 160 people lost their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
MP/MKA/SS
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