Two civilians killed in Indian Kashmir violence
Two Kashmiri civilians - a young woman and a teenage boy - have been killed and over a dozen injured by Indian police during clashes with protesters in the restive Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir.
According to an Indian police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, the incident occurred on Sunday after clashes erupted between Indian army troops and resident protesters in the village of Kakpora, in Pulwama district, some 35 kilometers south of Srinagar.
The residents allegedly protested after Indian police cordoned off the village, suspecting the presence of pro-independence fighters.
"One lady died in cross fire near the encounter site, and one protester reportedly died due to tear-smoke shell injury," said Javid Gillani, India's regional inspector general of police.
A local resident said that the dead boy, identified as Danish, was hit by a bullet in the head and the young woman, a university student named Shaista Hamid, was killed after a stray bullet struck her inside her home compound.
"They targeted civilians deliberately. They didn't even spare women. Shaista and Danish were killed in forces firing," said Shakeel Ahmad, a villager from Kakpora.
Both victims were residents of Pulwama district.
Officials confirmed the death of a pro-independence fighter in clashes, adding that 15 protesters sustained injuries and were transferred to the nearest hospital.
The latest spate of violence comes as cross-border frictions have recently flared up between Indian and Pakistani troops along the disputed de facto border in Kashmir. The two sides have accused each other of provocation.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947. Both neighbors claim full governance over the region; however, each have partial control over it.
Pakistan controls one-third of Kashmir, with the remaining two-thirds under India’s administration.
Thousands of people have been killed in violence in Kashmir since the 1980s.
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