SRINAGAR: Restrictions continue in the northern valley’s Baramulla town, where dozens of protesters were injured during clashes with the police and paramilitaries on Saturday even as rest of the valley resumed normal life.
A young man, Tahir Ahmed Sofi was shot dead by security forces in the area on Tuesday.
Residents say police and paramilitaries have been deployed in strength and rolls of concertina wire have been placed on the bridges in the old quarters of the town. The movement of people has been restricted and they are confined to their own localities.
Protesters have also clashed with the police in Palhallan area.
Yesterday, as life in Kashmir came back to normal after five days of curfew and shutdown, protesters clashed with the police and CRPF personnel and pelted them with stones. They in turn fired pellets and tear smoke shells. Most of the injured received pellet injuries.
“We have been demanding that two army camps, one of 46 Rashtriya Rifles at Filtration plant be removed,” a resident told freepresskashmir.com over phone.
The locals accuse soldiers of the Filtration Plant camp of having fired lived bullets which killed 27 -year-old Sofi.
However, in other parts of the valley, people came out of homes, shops opened and businesses resumed after five days of curfew and shutdown. People were seen flocking to markets to buy essentials. In uptown Srinagar traffic jams were witnessed in many parts.
Many shoppers told freepresskashmir.com that they shopped for extra food items and medicine, wary that protests may resume from Monday.
The Majlis e Mashawarat or a joint advisory council of separatists have said they will be issuing a new protest programme on Sunday.
Disrupted
Normal life has been disrupted in the valley for nearly a month since the hanging of Afzal Guru in Delhi’s Tihar jail. The valley was placed under a curfew for seven consecutive days after Guru’s hanging on Feb 9.
The situation had started limping back to normal when the mysterious death of a Kashmiri student in Hyderabad caused a fresh wave of unrest.
Many in Kashmir believe that Mudasir Kamran, a PhD scholar was killed by “Hindu fanatics” or the police after his participation in protest demonstrations over Guru’s execution. The Hyderabad police say he committed suicide.
The latest to come was the killing of a 27-year-old youth, Tahir Ahmed Sofi by the Army.
The killing has caused deep shock and anger in the valley. Even pro-India political groups including the governing National Conference have decried Sofi’s killing as “unprovoked”.
The chief minister Omar Abdullah broke down in the assembly saying he had no explanation for the killing. He lamented that those responsible for it could not be brought to justice due to impunity under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
India’s ruling party, the Congress has once again turned down the demand for withdrawal of AFSPA from the state.
The council, actually formed to chalk out a strategy of protests to demand the return of mortal remains of Mohammad Afzal Guru have said they will be meeting on Sunday. The police have raided homes of many leaders of the council and arrested them.
