Clashes and the action by security forces left 88 civilians injured in north and south Kashmir on Sunday as civilian unrest entered the 44th day.
Violence erupted at Rafiabad and Sopore in Baramulla district where 70 people sustained injuries in clashes. A major clash followed a clampdown on a pro-freedom rally at Behrampora. Eyewitnesses told The Hindu that the security forces fired tear-gas shells, triggering a violent confrontation with the crowd. Clashes also started in at Seelo in Sopore where a CRPF cavalcade came under attack from stone-throwers.
Locals alleged the security forces barged into a marriage party at Trumgund in Sopore and injured nine persons. One person was hit by pellets. The police refused to comment on the incident.
Six persons, including two women, were injured at Hygam. People tried to march to the Srinagar-Baramulla Highway there. One imam (preacher) was injured when the security forces allegedly thrashed him as he was on his way home in Kupwara from Srinagar, his family said.
Two youths were injured at Moominabad in Anantnag, according to locals. Security agencies are grappling with anti-India rallies in south Kashmir. Two major congregations were reported in Pulwama and Shopian districts where hundreds of people shouted pro-freedom slogans.
Hurriyat faction chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has alleged a “deliberate attempt” to instil fear in the people “through violence.” “Indiscriminate firing of pellets on innocent children is horrific and unbelievable by a nation that makes tall claims of ‘ahimsa’,” he said.
Meanwhile, curfew continued for the 44th day in Srinagar, Pampore and Anantnag. The police imposed strict restrictions under Section 144 across the Valley.
