Citizens defy curfew in Sopore

Policemen stand guard in front of closed shops During a strike in Srinagar on Saturday called by separtists. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

Defying curfew, people of Sopore in north Kashmir today took to streets and staged demonstrations against the killing of two youths in CRPF firing.

Indefinite curfew was clamped in the town, 55 km from here, last evening when hundreds of people took to streets, set ablaze a security vehicle, damaged a bunker and attacked the local police station, demanding action against the CRPF personnel.

Official sources said groups of people defied curfew and staged demonstrations at Hathishah Mohalla, Jamia Kadeem and Krankshivan and pelted stones on law enforcers. However, there was no report of any casualty.

Describing the situation in Sopore as tense but under control, the sources said the state police and paramilitary forces personnel are patrolling the deserted streets.

Trouble started last evening when people took to streets soon after an encounter at Bagh-i-Islam Krankshivan, 55 kms from here, in which security forces claimed to have killed two militants identified as Abdul Qayoom Najjar and Javid Ahmad.

Najjar, a local, was allegedly involved in a series of killings including that of National Conference worker Ghulam Nabi Khan.

The locals claimed that Javid was a civilian and his body be handed over to them.

As protestors pelted stones on CRPF personnel who were retreating after the encounter, the paramilitary forces opened fire injuring eight persons, two of whom succumbed in hospital.

CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathy said CRPF opened fire in self defence when the mob set on fire a car of the force.

However, locals refuted the claim of CRPF saying that the firing was resorted against innocent people and it was only when the CRPF opened fire that their vehicle was torched.

As the situation went out of control, authorities clamped indefinite curfew in the town around 10 pm last night.

Protesting against the incidents, separatists gave a call for Kashmir bandh today. Shops and business establishments remained closed in Srinagar and other major towns of the valley and vehicles did not ply.

However, attendance in government offices, educational institutions and semi-government offices was near normal and examinations of the state board and university are being held as per scheduled, the sources said.

Meanwhile, bodies of the two “militants” killed in the day-long encounter at Krankshivan were buried at Bijhama-Sopore, they said.