Protester killed in Sopore, Kashmir toll 89
By IANSWednesday, September 15, 2010
SRINAGAR - A young man was killed and five people were injured in north Kashmir’s Sopore town Wednesday as security forces opened fire at a mob that defied curfew restrictions and torched the headquarters of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC).
With this, the death toll has risen to 89 in the unrest that started in the Kashmir Valley June 11.
Police here said a huge mob of stone-pelting protesters defied the indefinite curfew imposed in Sopore, 52 km from here, Wednesday evening and ignored warnings from the security forces deployed there.
“The unruly mob torched the SRTC headquarters in Khushal Mato area of Sopore and the security forces opened fire after attempts at baton charging, using tear smoke shells and firing warning shots in the air failed to control the crowd,” a police officer said here.
“One protester identified as Mudasir Ahmad Gazi, 25, was critically injured in the incident and he succumbed to injuries in hospital. Five others were injured in the incident,” he added.
Clashes between the security forces and protesters continued till late evening in Sopore as more people poured out on to the roads after hearing about Gazi’s death.
Indefinite curfew was imposed in all the major towns and district headquarters of the Valley, including Srinagar, Sunday after mobs went on the rampage and indulged in widespread arson in the summer capital.
The violence occurred immediately after Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, the chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group, led a march to city centre Lal Chowk after Eid prayers Saturday.
Meanwhile, hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has issued another 11-day-long protest calendar asking people to observe shutdowns and carry our peaceful protests across the Valley. But this time he has appealed to people to resume normal activity every day from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and also for the entire day Sep 19 and Sep 22.
Geelani’s group has been issuing protest calendars on a regular basis during the last three months as part of its ‘Quit Kashmir’ campaign.
