SRINAGAR: Protests erupted in Qaimoh area of south Kashmir on Monday after a 60-year old woman died during a raid by security forces late last night.
Authorities have ordered a probe into the incident.
Police sources said Nazeera Akhtar suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Chedder, Watelhama as she opened the door for a raiding party of the 4 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of the police.
However, local residents say the the woman was slapped in the face as she resisted the entry of security forces into her house and subsequently suffered a heart attack.
“The troops also broke the windows and banged the door continuously before trying to enter,” Ghulam Hassan, a resident said.
However, the army and the official police spokesperson denied that they had any role in the woman’s death. Her house was not even under the cordon which was laid for militants and she, the security forces, did not die because of them.
This morning angry protesters chanted slogans as they carried Akhtar’s body in a procession towards the local police station, witnesses said.
Police fired teargas shells to disperse them. The protesters pelted them with bricks and stones.
Meanwhile Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kulgam has ordered a probe into the incident. “Additional Deputy Commissioner has been appointed as inquiry officer who will submit the report within a week’s time,” the DC said.
