Srinagar/ Chandigarh: Confrontations and high-pitched battles between Kashmiri protesters and Indian armed forces have continued in Indian-occupied Kashmir, despite a round-the-clock curfew imposed by authorities.
As per Indian media reports at least 30 young protesters were killed and over three hundred wounded over last three days after police and paramilitary troops opened fire on tens of thousands of Kashmiris who took to the streets to pay homage to the rebel leader Burhan Wani, who was killed on Friday.
At least one police officer was also killed. “A policeman was killed after a mob pushed his mobile bunker vehicle into river Jhelum at Sangam in Anantnag district”, notes Rising Kashmir.
“Wani was the leader of Hizb-ul Mujahideen, a group fighting Indian control of the disputed region. He has been widely credited for reviving armed resistance in Kashmir, using social media like Facebook to reach out to young Kashmiri men”, notes a report by AlJazeera.
K. Rajendra Kumar, the director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police, told reporters that 100 police personnel had been wounded and that three went missing while quelling the protests.
Activists and pro-freedom Kashmiri leaders criticised the security forces’ response to the protests, accusing them of using excessive force. Expressing anguish over the killing of civilians who were killed from past three days, Hurriyat groups on Monday have extended the strike call for more two days (July 12 and 13).