Four injured in Shopian, curfew clamped in Srinagar

Srinagar, Oct 3 (PTI) Four persons were injured Sunday
when security forces allegedly opened fire on protesters in
Shopian in South Kashmir, even as curfew was clamped in
Srinagar and some other districts in the wake of a protest
call by the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference.
Army troops cordoned off Nagbal village in Zainapora
area, 75 kms from Srinagar, in the wee hours following
information about presence of some militants in the area,
official sources said here in the north Indian state Kashmir.
They said all the residents of the area were
assembled in a field. However, some persons started raising
provocative slogans against the army cordon.
The troops fired several rounds in air and also used
batons to bring the situation under control, the sources said,
adding that the security forces' action resulted in injuries
to four persons.
Two of the injured -- identified as 18-year-old Salima
Yousuf and 19-year-old Aamir Dar -- were referred to a
hospital in Srinagar for treatment.
While the girl has been hit in the right arm, the boy
received a bullet in the right leg, they said.
Two other persons, who were injured in lathicharge,
were given first aid at Zainapora health centre.
"Curfew was imposed in the wee hours today in
Srinagar, Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara districts as a
precautionary measure," a police spokesman said.
He said security forces have been deployed in the
remaining six districts -- Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulagm,
Ganderbal and Budgam -- where severe restrictions have been
imposed under section 144 CrPC, which prohibits assembly of
four or more persons at any public place.
Curfew has been imposed to foil the plans of the hard
line Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who had
called for a march to Baronial district town in protest
against the killing of several youth in security forces action
in Pattan area of the district.
Authorities had Saturday lifted curfew from the
Valley after Geelani suspended his protest calendar for the
day. The day had passed off peacefully.
Shops, business establishments and private offices,
which opened very early Saturday, shut their shutters Sunday
while roads and streets wore a deserted look.
Kashmir Valley has been in the grip of violent
protests since June 11 when a 17-year-old boy was killed after
he was hit by a tear smoke shell during clashes at Rajouri
Kadal in the interior city. So far, 105 persons have been
killed in the unrest in the valley. PTI MIJ
HMI