Army keeps lid on restive Kashmir valley
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Srinagar, India, July 9, IRNA -- Tens of thousands of army and paramilitary soldiers were patrolling the streets of capital city for a second day, enforcing a rigid curfew.
This is aimed at keeping people indoors in order to cool tempers running high after the death of at least 15 teenagers in police firing in past three weeks.
A tenuous calm prevailed in the city of more than a million with denizens locked in their homes. Similar was the story elsewhere in the Valley.
However despite stringent curfew reports of protests continued to pour in from new areas which had hitherto remained by and large incident free.
On Thursday, people in Ganderbal, the home constituency of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, came out of their homes defying restrictions and held pro-freedom and anti-government protests.
According to reports police opened fire after repeated teargassing failed to deter the demonstrators who were protesting police and CRPF high handedness in the area.
According to the report earlier people in Kirhama area held a peaceful protest which was disrupted by police.
No sooner had the people left the venue of protest, CRPF and policemen barged into homes beating up residents indiscriminately without any regard for gender.
This, according to the report, infuriated people and announcements were made through mosque loud hailers asking people to come out of their homes to protest.
Soon a massive protest demonstration erupted in the area prompting police and CRPF to intervene again. This resulted in a clash between the two sides with protesters hurling stones at the forces and latter resorting to aerial firing and heavy tear gas shelling. Several persons were injured in the forces’ action.
At least one of the injured, Mushtaq Ahmad Mir of Kirhama, was reportedly hit by a teargas shell.
He was immediately shifted to Soura Medical Institute where according to the report his condition was said to be serious.
Meanwhile reports of night time protest demonstrations have also come in from old Srinagar, Budgam, Chrari Sharief, Beeru, Chadoora, Bandipur, Handwara, Shopian, besides Sopore, and Baramulla.
Protests broke out in Baramulla again this morning after which the town was handed over to army, reports said.
Army conducted flag marches for the second day in uptown Srinagar and Baramulla.
As the army carried out more flag marches in the peripheral areas of the summer capital to ensure observance of the curfew, the central government has decided to send additional paramilitary troops to augment those already deployed in the Valley.
"The first batch of additional deployments of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would arrive here tomorrow (Friday)," a senior police officer said here.
Meanwhile, the administration has canceled all the curfew passes. Besides the local media persons passes of all persons associated with essential services, including health, power and water supply too were canceled.
Worst hit were all hospitals like Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura; State Hospital, Lal Ded and Children Hospitals.
At Soura most of the operations had to be canceled due to non availability of the staff.
Reports said doctors, paramedical and administrative staff on Friday held a protest demonstration in the hospital premises against the CRPF who they alleged had raided the casualty section last night when a person injured in police action was being treated there.
Troopers allegedly beat up staff, patients and attendants there provoking protests.
They were also protesting to express their resentment at the attitude of authorities.
Residents in curfew-bound uptown and old city areas, reached on phone, said their areas were facing acute crisis of essentials like baby milk and medicines.
This is for the first time in 20 years that even pharmacies too were not allowed to open shops.
Reports from south Kashmir towns of Anantnag (Islamabad), Koimoh, Pulwama and Kakpora said curfew continued there without any relaxation on Thursday. However, no major untoward incident took place in these areas.
2162**2160**1420
End News / IRNA / News Code 1220101
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
