Indian forces kill young man in fresh protests in Kashmir
A young man has been killed and several others injured during clashes between Indian forces and protesters in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
The fresh fierce clashes erupted on Wednesday after Indian troops tried to stop thousands of Kashmiri protesters defying a curfew in the southern town of Pulwama.
The local police superintendent said the casualties were caused as Indian troops fired tear gas and shotguns to disperse the crowd.
"This youth died of (shotgun) pellet injuries,” Rayees Mohammad Bhat said.
Witnesses and local residents said Indian forces indiscriminately fired shotguns to disperse the crowd, adding that the agitated protesters responded with rocks.
The angry demonstrators were protesting against recent civilian killings at the hands of Indian forces across the Muslim-majority region.
The protests came as Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh is in the disputed region to discuss the unrest with local political, business and other leaders.
The visit came days after pro-Indian Kashmiri politicians urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take serious measures to halt weeks-long deadly violence in the disputed region.
A delegation of politicians, led by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, on Monday met with Modi in the Indian capital of New Delhi, seeking an immediate ban on pellet guns and calling for the premier’s intervention in ending the unrest in Kashmir.
Modi’s office in a recent statement stressed the need for dialogue to end the unrest.
The latest wave of violence erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir on July 8, when people protested against the killing of Burhan Wani, a popular pro-independence fighter, by Indian forces.
At least 66 people have so far been killed and thousands more injured during clashes between protesters and Indian forces.
Indian forces have imposed a curfew across large parts of Kashmir since July.
There are an estimated 500,000 Indian troops currently deployed in the restive territory.
India and Pakistan have claimed Kashmir in full since they won independence from British rule in 1947, but they have only partial control over it.
Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Kashmir since early 1990s.
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