Daily Times

SIRINAGAR: Two persons- a civilian and a policeman- succumbed to injuries on Sunday taking the death toll of people killed in the ongoing unrest in Indian-held Kashmir to 52 while the curfew and shutdown crippled life in the Valley for 16th consecutive day.

Sameer Ahmad (25) of Khunmoh, who was injured in police firing in Pampore on July 10, succumbed to injuries at SKIMS, Soura. A policeman Mudasir Ahmad succumbed to injuries sustained in an attack on a police station in Kulgam district on July 15.

On July 15, a mob bombarded stones at police station Yaripora in Kulgam. During the stone pelting, suspected militants hurled a grenade at the police station, resulting in injuries to six cops including Mudasir.

Meanwhile, protests and clashes continued at various places in the Valley. Clashes were reported in Old city, Batamaloo, Soura, Eidgah, Saraibal, Railway Bridge Kanipora, Nowgam, Pampore, Khunmoh and Zewan. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protestors.

According to the reports obtained from Rising Kashmir, protests and clashes also poured in from Kulgam, Mattan Aishmuqam, Kokernag, Dooru, Verinag, Bijbehara and Devsar, Kupwara, Rafiabad, Pattan, Doabghah, Down Town Sopore and old town Baramulla.

Curfew remained in force in four South Kashmir districts — Anantnag, Kulgam, Kupwara, Pulwama and Shopian and eight police station areas of Srinagar city as a precautionary measure, a police official told Rising Kashmir.

He said while curfew has already been lifted from four districts — Bandipora, Baramulla, Budgam and Ganderbal, restrictions under section 144 of CrPc which restricts assembly of four or more persons continue in these areas.

Strict curfew was clamped in Khunmoh area of district Srinagar and Pampore which witnessed protests after a youth of Khunmoh succumbed to injuries this morning.

In the areas, where curfew was not enforced, shutdown called by the separatists paralysed the life. All shops and business establishments and petrol pumps remained closed while public transport was off the roads.

The mobile internet and mobile service in the Valley also remain suspended. Only BSNL post-paid connections and broadband services are working.

The continuous curfew and restrictions in the Valley has created humanitarian crisis in the Valley with people facing shortage of essentials. The shopkeepers have also run out of stock.

In all major South Kashmir towns, roads were blocked with concertina wires by the force personnel.

Locals said every time people, who would try to move out to buy stock, if available, the police and paramilitary forces would resort to laathi charge.

They said several locals were beaten up by police and CRPF and people were asked to remain indoors.

Police version: A police spokesman said the situation in the valley remained peaceful and under control today.

“There were no reports of any untoward incident from anywhere in the valley although some stray stone pelting incidents were reported from isolated places,” he said.

The spokesman said there was no curfew in most of the towns/areas of Kashmir valley although curfew remained imposed in eight Police Stations of Srinagar and towns of Awantipora, Kulgam and Anantnag.

Besides the 52 deaths, around 3000 people have sustained injuries in the protests triggered by the killing of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with forces in Indian-held Kashmir on July 8.

This article originally appeared in Rising Kashmir.