Protesters throw stones towards an armoured police van during an anti-India demonstration in Narbal on the outskirts of Srinagar yesterday.
Agencies/Srinagar
Police shot dead a 16-year-old boy yesterday during an anti-India demonstration in Jammu and Kashmir as a separatist strike shut down the state on a second day of violent clashes, officials said.
The uncle of the boy said police first detained his nephew before shooting him at point-blank range in front of dozens of other protesters.
Police said they would investigate the uncle’s allegations while admitting that officers had breached normal protocol and saying they regretted the incident.
The shooting happened during a protest on the outskirts of Srinagar, the main city of Kashmir, against a government crackdown on separatist leaders - the second day of violent clashes in the northern state.
“The boy died of bullet wounds,” Aijaz Mustafa, a local hospital spokesman, said.
Three others were also wounded, witnesses said.
“The police officer took my nephew aside and then shot him point-blank as we watched,” Tariq Ahmed Sofi, the boy’s uncle, said.
Javid Gillani, inspector general of police, said: “If that is true it will come out.”
“We will speak to him (the boy’s uncle) and investigate his version of the boy’s killing,” he added.
A separate police statement appeared to admit that there had been police wrongdoing.
We “regret the unfortunate incident,” the statement said.
“A preliminary enquiry conducted into the matter indicates that the forces deployed have acted in violation of the laid-down SOP (Standard Operating Procedure),” it added.
Protesters blocked the Srinagar-Gulmarg road, squatting with the body of the slain teenager. They refused to bury his body unless those responsible for the firing were identified and brought to justice.
Kashmir has been rocked by violent protests this week after the brother of a top rebel leader was killed by the army near the town of Tral in the south of the Kashmir Valley.
Shops, businesses and schools remained shut yesterday across several towns in the state in response to a strike led by top separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani against what he called “state terrorism” and “poisonous propaganda” by Indian media.
Authorities have put all top separatist leaders under house arrest to prevent them from leading protests.
On Friday, 30 people, mainly police officers, were injured as pro-Pakistan demonstrators set fire to an Indian flag and hurled rocks at them as protests over the arrest of another separatist leader turned violent.
Masarat Alam Bhat was arrested on Friday, two days after he raised pro-Pakistan slogans at a peaceful separatist rally in which activists waved Pakistani flags.
Bhat rose to prominence in 2010 when he organised a series of mass protests before being detained without charge for four years under controversial public safety legislation.
The unrest is a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which this year took control of the state government in alliance with the regional People’s Democratic Party, the first time it has been in power in the state.
