18 injured in fresh clashes ahead of Rajnath's visit to Kashmir to hold talks
Srinagar: At least 18 people were injured, 3 of them critically, after security forces fired live ammunition on protesters in Vihil and Nowgam areas of Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday.
Those with grave injuries have been admitted to Srinagar Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) for specialised treatment, while others are being treated at a medical facility in Vahil and Shopian district hospital.
According to reports, the Army personnel and members of J&K police’s counter-insurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) were removing barricades erected by the locals along the road passing through the twin villages. This irked the residents, who rushed out of their homes shouting pro-freedom slogans and pelted stones on the security personnel, who tried to disperse the crowd.
Injured locals alleged that security forces fired teargas canisters and pellet guns resulting to injuries.
“They (security forces) descended on the villages and apprehending that they may enter houses, beat us and damage properties, the villages came out and started shouting slogans but faced the brutality,” said one of the injured on condition of anonymity.
However, police officials denied the charge, saying that the security forces were removing the roadblocks when they faced heavy stone-pelting. To disperse the protesters, the security personnel resorted to aerial firing and lobbed tear smoke towards the ‘violent crowd’, but failing to contain situation, pellet guns were also fired.
The incident set off fresh tensions in Shopian and locals took to streets protesting ‘atrocities by the security forces'.
Clashes have also been reported in Malangam village of Bandipora district. Witnesses said Pakistan national flag was put up in the village and when security forces entered the village to pull down the flag, the residents came out on the streets leading to clashes. The security forces fired dozens of teargas canisters to quell the slogan-chanting crowds.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a two-day visit to the Kashmir Valley from Wednesday during which he will review the situation and may hold talks with cross section of people, a move which comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed "deep concern and pain" over the situation there.
This is the second visit of Singh in a month to the Valley which has been witnessing unrest since July 8 when Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces.
As many as 65 people, including two policemen, have been killed and several thousand were injured so far in different violence.
The Home Minister had said the Centre wants an emotional relationship with the state and not just need-based.
Singh had said the central government will talk to whosoever needed once peace and normalcy is restored in the state.
"As far as Government of India is concerned, I want to make it clear that we don't just want need-based ties, but to build an emotional relationship with Kashmir," he said, reaching out to the people in the Valley while making a fervent appeal to them to help restore peace and normalcy in the state.
On Monday, while meeting a joint opposition delegation led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his "deep concern and pain" over the situation there and asked all political parties to work together to find a "permanent and lasting" solution to problems in Jammu and Kashmir.
