As the Army’s four battalions are being moved to north and south Kashmir, a boy was killed and over 30 persons were injured in clashes on Saturday, taking the civilian death toll to 83 on the 71st day of violence in the Valley.
At least 3,000 more soldiers are being shifted to the volatile areas of Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag districts, police sources said. At least 1,000 are being deployed in the restive districts of north Kashmir — Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora may have witnessed fewer deaths than the 54 in south Kashmir, but the region is growing restive.
60 more detained
The police sources said 60 more protesters were detained in the past 24 hours in the Valley. Over 1,500 have been rounded up so far.
In Srinagar, clashes erupted after the body of a 11-year-old boy was recovered from an orchard at Harwan on Friday evening.
Residents said the body of Nasir Shafi Qazi, a Class VII student, was spotted 100 metres from the spot where clashes broke out at 5 p.m. on Friday. “The body bore many pellet marks and one arm was dislocated,” a resident said.
Residents seek probe
The residents demanded an inquiry, alleging a “cold-blooded murder” in police custody. Defying curfew, hundreds of people participated in the funeral. Protesters clashed with security forces, leaving more than a dozen, among them several policemen, injured.
The area resounded with deafening sounds of explosion all day.
19 injured
In Anantnag district, protesters clashed with the forces which moved in to foil a rally. Nineteen persons, including sub-divisional police officer Tanveer Ahmad, were injured.
One person was hit by a bullet in Ganderbal district of north Kashmir. The injured, Ghulam Mohiuddin, 32, was shifted to the Government Bones and Joints Hospital in Srinagar. “The man was hit in the left arm. His condition is critical,” hospital sources said.
