JAMMU, Jan 31 (1998): Nine Moslems including a woman and a child were killed when Indian soldiers fired on protestors in Kashmir on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a defence spokesman said Saturday.
He said the soldiers opened fire on some 30 people in the village of Kadrana, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of here, late Friday after the crowd attacked them to stop a search operation.
The soldiers had cordoned off the village to arrest two Moslem separatists, the official said, adding a congregation in the local mosque offering Eid prayers rushed out and attacked the troops.
He said three soldiers were injured before the troops opened fire, killing five men, a woman and a child and injuring about 10 others. Two men died of injuries later.
A senior army official expressed “deep anguish” over the “unfortunate incident” and said an inquiry had been ordered into the firing. “Any official found guilty will be punished strictly by military law.”
Golam Rasool, an injured victim, said soldiers surrounding the mosque opened fire without provocation.
“The moment we came out from the mosque, the soldiers told us to hand over three militants they believed were hiding in the mosque,” Rasool said in a hospital.
“Some of us protested and immediately the troops began firing and killed seven on the spot… There was no violence from our side.”
Kadrana politician Abdul Aziz Wani said: “There was no militant in that mosque. It was filled with civilians who had gone to celebrate Eid… This is shameful.”
The incident led to further protests, with hundreds of people taking to the streets and shouting anti-government slogans.
Kashmir home minister Ali Mohammed Sagar told AFP Saturday: “It is very sad and unfortunate, especially as it happened on the holy day of Eid.”
Officials said security had been tightened and a ban imposed on public gatherings.
More than 20,000 people have died in Moslem separatist violence in Kashmir since 1989.
India accuses neighbouring Pakistan, which hold the northern third of the state, of fuelling the rebellion. Islamabad says its support is limited to diplomacy.
Reports said the village of Kadrana was tense on Saturday, with sporadic clashes between residents and security troops.
A police official said 40 people had been injured since Friday, adding that some of the injured were brought to Jammu by helicopters for treatment.
Tension in Kashmir is expected to mount in the run-up to national elections in February-March.
Kashmir’s chief Moslem priest, Omar Farooq, Friday called for a boycott of the polls. He told more than 100,000 worshipers the region wanted freedom, not ballotting.
A US State Department human rights report released Friday accused Indian security forces of rampant human rights abuses in Kashmir.
The 1997 report said former militants now working for the government may have committed “100 to 200” extrajudicial killings in Kashmir while security forces caused an equal number of deaths.
It said troops also carried out incommunicado detentions and torture. The Indian government rejects the allegations.
Indian paramilitary officials, meanwhile, said they had shot two separatist militant commanders Friday after surrounding a house on the outskirts of Srinagar.
The two belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen, the dominant militant group in Kashmir, they said.
