Srinagar, July 7: Three civilians were killed and five were injured in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Saturday when the army fired at protesters throwing stones at soldiers.
Shakir Ahmed Khanday, Irshad Majeed and a teenaged girl named Andleeb died of their injuries in hospitals after clashes in Redwani village where the army was on a survey.
People said the army opened fire when unidentified young men pelted stones at a patrol.
“We are just collecting details from the officials on ground,” Colonel Rajesh Kalia, a spokesperson for the army, told Hindustan Times.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a senior Hurriyat Conference leader who is under house arrest, said on Twitter security forces had fired “indiscriminately” at protesters and accused them of “massacre”.
A soldier of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force was injured in a grenade attack in Hyderpora near Srinagar.
Parts of Kashmir are under a as a precautionary measure to maintain peace before the second death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and a shutdown called by the Joint Resistance Leadership against the arrest of separatist leader Asiya Andrabi and her two aides by National Investigation Agency. Shops, businesses and educational institutions were closed and traffic was off the roads in Kashmir. Trains between south and north Kashmir were suspended.
In Tral town, people have been asked not to leave home. Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani was under house arrest and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik was taken into custody.
Source Hindustan Times
