- Over 100 injured in pellet, teargas shelling
- 60-yr-old woman hit by pellets in chest, head in Anantnag
- Army, CRPF men unleash reign of terror in Bandipora villages
- Women take out rallies in North, South
- Barring few stone pelting incidents, situation remained peaceful: Police
- 20 new companies of CPRF being sent to replace border guards
There was no let up in protests and clashes in Kashmir where curfew in two police station areas of Srinagar and shutdown remained in force for the 54th consecutive day on Tuesday.
At least 100 people including some women were injured in the clashes.
A police official said curfew was lifted from whole of the Kashmir except two Police Stations of Nowhatta and M R Gunj in Srinagar.
He said the curfew was lifted from Pulwama town after improvement in the station.
The official said police and paramilitary personnel remained deployed in large numbers in sensitive areas of Srinagar and other parts of the Valley to maintain law and order and prevent youth from taking to roads and staging demonstrations.
The private vehicles plied on the roads. However, public transport, shops, business establishments, petrol pumps and schools remained closed due to the shutdown called by the separatists.
The separatists have extended the strike call till September 1.
After 51 days, authorities had yesterday lifted curfew from most parts of the Valley except two police station areas of Srinagar and Pulwama.
Kashmir has been under curfew and shutdown since July 9, when the unrest erupted in the Valley following killing of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.
At least 70 people including two policemen have been killed and thousands others injured in the ongoing unrest in last 53 days.
Despite lifting of curfew, there was no let up in protests and clashes in the Valley.
Clashes erupted in Batamaloo area of Srinagar after forces tried to stop protest march of youth. Hundreds of people were part of a rally when cops intercepted them and fired tear smoke shells to disperse them. The youth retaliated and pelted stones on them. The clashes continued for some time.
The clashes between youth and cops also took place in some other parts of uptown and downtown Srinagar during which cops fired tear smoke shells and resorted to baton charge. Many people were injured in the clashes.
South Kashmir
The residents of Mehmoodabad village in Doora in Anantnag district said forces went on a rampage in the village and ransacked the houses and thrashed the inmates.
Enraged over the forces action, people came out on roads and staged protests demonstrations. The police and paramilitary personnel fired pellet and tear smoke shells to quell the protests.
At least 10 people were injured in the forces action. Among the injured was 60 year old Sara Bano, who sustained pellet injuries in head and chest. She is being treated at SDH Dooru.
Locals said police detained many people from the area including a 55 year old, Ghulam Hassan Bhat.
“Now we are not safe even in our homes. If the government wants to continue with the reign of terror we will be left with no option but to take to streets and stage massive protests,” residents of the area said.
20 more people were injured when force personnel fired tear smoke shells and pellets and resorted to heavy baton charge to foil a protest rally in Zaban area of Qazigund in Anantnag district.
Despite forces action, the rally went ahead as per schedule. The participants chanted anti-India, pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans and waved Pakistani flags during the rally. Later, the protestors dispersed off peacefully.
The police and CRPF men used force to foil a rally of people in Wathoo village of Shopian district.
The locals said forces this morning came and vandalized the venue for the rally. “The force personnel also blocked roads leading to the venue”.
The agitated people protested the forces highhandedness and took to roads. The police and CRPF men fired tear smoke shells and pellets to disperse the protestors. At least 20 people were injured in the forces said.
A local scribe, Aijaz Dar, was among the injured. He was hit by pellets.
Meanwhile, Dukhtaran-e-Millat organized an all women pro-freedom rally in Muhammadpora village of Kulgam district. Hundreds of women from different villages reached the rally, where they raised pro-freedom slogans and demanded an end to civilian killings.
North Kashmir
At least 25 people suffered injuries when army men barged into houses, mosques in Ajas and Saidunara hamlets of Bandipora and beat people.
“It took army men over 15 minutes to de-boarded along with spades, blades, axes, cleavers, scythe’s, iron roads and other material. We initially felt that they (troopers) had some snag in their vehicles. They barged into the houses and let loose a reign of terror,” the locals said.
They said the troopers damages houses and parked vehicles and beat the inmates in Jan and Rather Mohalla mercilessly, injuring over 18 people. “Four of the injured sustained critical injuries and were referred to SKIMS Srinagar for specialized treatment”.
After leaving the Ajas village, the troopers entered the nearby hamlet Saidunara and let loose a reign of terror there.
“The army men barged into the houses, ransacked the household items, damaged the property and beat the inmates. They damaged every house of the village,” locals of Saidunara village said.
They said at least seven people were injured in army beating.
“The force personnel looted shops and beat up the residents,” they said.
Women also took out pro-freedom rally in Palhalan area of Pattan in Baramulla district.
Police Version
A police spokesman said barring few minor stone pelting incidents, the overall situation remained peaceful and under control throughout the Valley.
“The stone pelting incidents were reported from Batamaloo and Bag-e-Mehtab in Srinagar, Chankipora and Main Chowk, Sopore, Mehmoodabad in Dooru and Kaloosa in Bandipora, where miscreants in their attempts to disturb the situation pelted stones on police and security deployments,” he said.
BSF withdrawn from Valley
With curfew lifted from all but two police station areas of Kashmir, BSF troops deployed to quell street protests were Tuesday withdrawn suddenly and replaced by the CRPF, barely a week after deployment, apparently following demands by the political parties and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
The border guarding force was deployed in the restive Valley after a gap of 12 years.
As a fall out of the decision, four companies of CRPF, which were deployed for route sanitisation exercise for Prime Minister and other SPG protectees in Delhi, have been withdrawn. The task will now be undertaken by the BSF, which is mandated for guarding Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders.
A total of 25 fresh companies of CRPF are now being sent to the Valley for replacing the BSF.
So far, 18 companies (around 1,800 personnel) of CRPF have reached the Valley out of which eight have been sent to north Kashmir. One company, which was on static duty at the state secretariat, has been replaced by ITBP.
The sources said several political parties had demanded withdrawal of the BSF from the Valley during their talks with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh recently. It is understood that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had also sought its withdrawal during her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BSF, which was taken off counter-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir in 2004, was deployed in the Valley last week after a gap of 12 years.
BSF personnel were deployed in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk in the city and adjoining areas for law and order duties.
This was for the first time since 2004 that BSF was called for active duties in the city. The force, which conducted anti-militancy operations in Kashmir for nearly 13 years from 1991, was replaced in the city by the Central Reserve Police Force in 2004.
