KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Normal life was disrupted for the 76th consecutive day on Thursday in Kashmir Valley while curfew according to officials remained force in three police station areas of Srinagar as the curbs were lifted from other parts following ‘improvement’ in the situation.
Curfew was imposed in south Kashmir’s Islamabad town on Thursday in view of the call for a protest march by resistance leadership.
The official said restrictions on the assembly of people under Section 144 Cr Pc continued to remain in force in the Valley.
The resistance leadership had called for a march to Islamabad and Srinagar uptown areas.
The pro-freedom leaders, who are spearheading the current anti-India uprising in the Valley, have extended the protest programme till September 29. They have announced periodic relaxation in the strike on some days.
Shops, business establishments and petrol pumps continued to remain shut in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley, while public transport was off the roads. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions also continued to remain shut.
Mobile Internet services also remained suspended, while the outgoing calls on prepaid numbers continued to remain barred across the Valley.
Reports from Soura Srinagar said that a group of protesters resorted to stone-pelting. “Group of protesters mostly youth targeted deployment with stones who exercised maximum restraint and didn’t retaliate,” said a police official.
Incidents of protests and clashes between youth and the forces were reported from Fateh Kadal and Habba Kadal area in Srinagar Thursday afternoon.
Local sources said that the youth also shouted pro-freedom and anti-Indian slogans. Youth engaged police and CRPF men in pitched battles, they said. Clashes continued for hours.
The Masjids in many localities in downtown, Srinagar also reverberated with pro-freedom slogans and songs.
Meanwhile, locals of Pandaan area of Nowhatta in Old Srinagar alleged that para-military CRPF personnel had ransacked a Masjid.
“We have closed the Masjid for this night,” a local from the area told Kashmir Life on Thursday evening, “some CRPF men had entered the Masjid early in the afternoon.”
“We saw the CRPF men fighting with their officer who asked them to leave the Masjid premises as they were drunk,” the local said.
Reports coming from Baramulla said that a youth was arrested by police early this evening. “He was hit by pellets in leg during a stone pelting incident but police caught hold of him and took him away,” a news reporter from the area said.
Reports coming from Sozaith area of Budgam district said that police and CRPF men on late Wednesday evening burnt down heaps of grass. “The forces tried to raid the village and arrest youths but announcements were made on loudspeakers and people came out of their homes,” a local said, “forces fled, fired tear gas shells and resorted to aerial firing.” The local added that while “fleeing, the forces burnt down the heaps of grass which is being cut down from rice fields these days”.
Clashes erupted in North Kashmir’s Bandipora after army and police said that they killed a suspected militant during an encounter in Argam village. The villagers demanded custody of the slain militant’s body which was denied.
Eighty-eight civilians have been killed by forces in the current uprising that broke out a day after popular Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani was killed by forces in South Kashmir on July 8.
Police in a statement issued this evening said that fifty seven more persons were arrested in last twenty four hours. Hundreds of people are behind bars while over 300 have been booked under draconian Public Safety Act and shifted to outside Kashmir jails.
(With inputs from CNS.)
