Kashmir violence: Death toll rises to 21; curfew extended to more areas

Srinagar: With five more persons being killed during fresh clashes on Sunday and three of those shot on Saturday succumbing to their injuries in hospitals overnight, the toll in security forces’ firings and other actions in Kashmir Valley has risen to 20. Also a police driver Afroz Ahmed was on Sunday pushed in River Jhelum at Sangam outside Srinagar by a mob.

As the number of casualties received at various hospitals across the Valley has increased manifold, a medical emergency has been declared at these facilities and the authorities have asked the doctors and paramedical staff presently on leave to resume duties immediately.

Read: How can any Indian sympathise with Burhan Wani?: Centre on Kashmir unrest

Srinagar’s main government-run SMHS hospital had till Sunday evening received over 100 patients and most of them had sustained bullet or pellet injuries or were hit by teargas canisters or stones during clashes.

Principal, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Dr. Qasiar Ahmad, who is also head of all associated hospitals confirmed a medical emergency has been declared and routine admissions, theatres and leaves of the doctors have been cancelled.

Burhan Wani (right), who was killed by security forces in Kashmir on Friday (AP Photo)

Curfew was extended to more areas in Kashmir from Saturday midnight as protests and violence over the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the new-age poster boy of militancy, claimed more lives throwing the Valley in a worsening situation. More than 250 people including over 100 security personnel have been injured in clashes and violence in past two days. The condition of half a dozen of protesters who received bullet wounds in security forces’ firing is stated to be critical.

Anger is at its height and many people, mainly youth, are venting it and the sadness out on the streets. This correspondent during a drive through parts of Srinagar in the Sunday afternoon saw streets in otherwise curfew-bound town littered with rocks, bricks, concrete blocks and burning piles of used tyres. The air was filled with the acrid smell of tear gas. The hordes of youngsters were occupying these streets, many among them holding their hands up in defiance and yelling 'azadi, azadi'.

Protests and clashes were on in several City areas. In the evening, one protester was killed in security forces’ firing at Tengpora, a Srinagar suburb. Almost all other deaths were reported from southern districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama.

Security personnel guard a deserted street as curfew is imposed in different parts of the city. (Photo: PTI)

As many as thirty additional companies of central forces which arrived here from Delhi in chartered flights overnight were quickly transported to various towns of the Valley to enforce curfew. Major parts of Srinagar with almost entire south Kashmir which has witnessed worst incidents of violence is reeling under strict curfew since Saturday morning. Various cities and towns in northern and central Kashmir too have been brought under such restrictions or security lockdown is being maintained.

The State Cabinet held an emergency meeting here with Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, in chair to discuss the situation. Director General of Police, K. Rajendra Kumar, briefed the meeting on the ground situation. He was away on a private visit to home town Hyderabad but rushed back to Srinagar to oversees the law and order situation following a phone call from the Chief Minister.

Read: Kashmir violence: CID says security forces ‘don’t kill intentionally’

Kashmir’s divisional commissioner, Asgar Hussain Samoon, said that curfew has been clamped on entire Kashmir Valley which has a population of over five million from the Saturday midnight to maintain law and order. Thousands of J&K policemen and CRPF personnel in riot gear are patrolling the deserted streets of Srinagar to enforce curfew.

A police spokesman claimed the situation in Valley remained under control in spite of fresh incidents of arson and mob violence reported from certain areas. He said stone-pelting incidents took place at various places in the districts of Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Srinagar and Budgam. The spokesman confirmed three persons identified as Irfan Ahmed Malik, Gulzar Ahmed Pandit and Fayaz Ahmed Waza were critically injured in security forces’ firing in Pulwama and later died in hospital.

He also said that a police vehicle and some seized vehicles were set on fire during an attack on a police post at Lasipora in Pulwama. Unruly mobs set a GRP guardroom and an RPF barrack to fire at Bijbehara Railway Station, a police post at Damhal Khushipora (Kulgam) and a single-storeyed structure at Soibugh (Budgam) which had earlier housed a police post was also torched.

The spokesman confirmed that a bullet-proof police vehicle was attacked by a mob at Sangam along the Srinagar-Jammu highway and subsequently rolled it down into the Jhelum, drowning its constable driver Afroz Ahmed. A Fire Services vehicle also came under mob attack at nearby Bijbehara, he said adding that the vehicle was on way to Bijbehara from Sangam after the authorities received a phone call which later proved to be a hoax.

A statement issued by J&K police here alleged “It has been seen that in the garb of law and order situations militants are firing and lobbing grenades on police and CRPF personnel”.

It added that militants tossed two grenades on CRPF deployed on law and order duties in Murran Chowk (Pulwama) resulting in injuries to a few jawans. In Shopian the vehicle of local Superintendent of Police was fired upon and a grenade was also lobbed at the scene, the statement said adding that a police post at Uttressu in south Kashmir was also targeted with rifle fire by militants.

Almost all separatist leaders have been taken into preventive custody or placed under house arrest. In a joint decision announced on Saturday, they extended the strike call initially issued to mourn and protest the killing of Wani along with his two associates during an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of southern Anantnag district on July 8 for two more days (Sunday and Monday) in view of the killing of protesters in security forces’ firings.

A government-run hospital in Lolab area of frontier Kupwara district and a nearby pharmacy were alleged ransacked and their staff roughed up by security forces as they were “angry” over those sustaining injuries during protests being treated there, a report from Kupwara said.

Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and working president of opposition National Conference (NC), Omar Abdullah, while responding to the government’s appeal to help it in the effort to restore normalcy in the Valley tweeted, “The @JKNC_ will never be an irresponsible party & opposing you will never mean setting the state on fire for narrow political ends.” He, however, asked the present incumbent Mehbooba Mufti to lead from the front.

He wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.com “Please don't take the easy option of hiding behind your spokesperson & your police officers. No one elected them, the people elected you...This is the time to lead from the front. You must accept the responsibility both for letting things get to this point as for the recovery”.