Youth killed in Kashmir, death toll rises to 71

Curfew-like restrictions remained in force in rest of Kashmir even as normal life remained paralysed for the 57th day.

Updated - November 17, 2021 05:13 am IST - Srinagar

A youth was on Saturday killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in Qazigund area of South Kashmir taking the death toll in the ongoing unrest to 71 even as curfew continued in parts of Srinagar in view of the separatists’ call for occupying Lal Chowk and Airport Road here.

Curfew-like restrictions remained in force in rest of Kashmir even as normal life remained paralysed for the 57th day.

The 24-year-old Basit Ahmed Ahanger was brought to the district hospital in Anantnag in Srinagar with pellet injuries sustained during clashes, a police official said, adding he was declared brought dead by the doctors.

“Curfew remains in force in five police station areas of downtown Srinagar and Batamaloo and Maisuma areas in uptown city,” a police official said.

He said curfew in these areas of the summer capital continued as a precautionary measure in view of the call given by separatists asking people to occupy Airport Road, city centre Lal Chowk and district headquarters on Saturday and Sunday to protest the visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh-led all-party delegation to the Valley.

However, the official said, curfew has been lifted from the towns where it was imposed on Friday. Curfew has been lifted from other areas of the Valley in view of the improving situation, the official said.

Authorities had on Friday re-imposed curfew in Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Baramulla and Pattan towns apart from some areas of Srinagar in view of apprehensions of violence after Friday prayers.

Curfew-like restrictions on the movement of people were in place in the rest of the Valley, official sources said.

Meanwhile, normal life remained affected due to the separatist sponsored strike on 57th day as educational institutions and private offices were closed, while public transport continued to be off the roads.

The separatists have extended the shutdown programme till September 8.

Two police personnel are among those killed while several thousand others have been injured in the clashes between protesters and security forces in the Valley since Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir on July 8.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.