Lal Chowk march stopped, 4 killed

Four persons, including a housewife, were killed and 150 others injured when security forces opened fire in many...

Four persons, including a housewife, were killed and 150 others injured when security forces opened fire in many places across the Valley after people defied curfew to join a planned separatist march to Srinagar’s Lal Chowk. The Government arrested the separatist leadership and put a heavy security cordon in all the ten districts while entry to Lal Chowk was blocked with tin sheets and barbed wire.

A Government statement, however, said, “The situation was peaceful and under control”. The police said people gathered at around a dozen places despite strict orders to stay indoors. The CRPF and Army personnel opened fire at many places to halt the processions. The police said they have arrested several separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, for “attempting to breach peace”. The top Hurriyat leaders have been lodged in Gulmarg.

The first incident took place in Hajan in north Kashmir at 7 am, when several thousand people took out a procession shouting pro-freedom slogans. The CRPF men opened fire, injuring 30 people. The angry mob then tried to set a police post on fire. Sub-Divisional Police Officer Harmeet Singh alleged that someone from within the crowd had fired at the police. “One CRPF and two policemen were injured,” he said, without giving their names.

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Though CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi said protestors lobbed three grenades towards the vehicles of 13 Rashtriya Rifles, both the Army and the police said no such incident took place.

Later, the police said an angry crowd had tried to take the Bandipore Deputy Commissioner hostage. “The policemen opened fire. One person was killed and three others injured,” the police said.

Soon, another large crowd gathered at Narbal in Srinagar city’s outskirts. The Armymen opened fire again, killing a protestor, Showkat Ahmad Khanday, and seriously injuring eight others.

At Handwara in Kupwara district, the CRPF men opened fire and killed a 35-year-old housewife, Fahmeeda. Handwara SP Rafiq Vakil said, “It was a warning shot fired by the Army that hit her when she was sitting on top floor of her house.”

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The police said more than 7,000 people started marching towards Pulwama from Tahab where CRPF men opened fire to disperse the crowd. A 22-year-old student, Basit Ahmad Najar, was killed and 12 others wounded in the incident. A senior police officer in Pulwama said “they were trying to pacify the crowds when CRPF men led by Commandant Sharma opened fire”.

A Sub-Inspector of J-K Police’s Anti-Hijacking unit, Riyaz Ahmad was beaten up by CRPF men at Ram Bagh in Srinagar. The police have filed a case against the CRPF at Shergarhi Police Station. “We have taken up this issue with our seniors and the CRPF officers,” said SP, Anti-Hijacking, Srinagar Airport.

Meanwhile, the security forces once again directed their anger towards ambulance drivers and paramedic staff, injuring nine ambulance drivers and three paramedics on Monday. A senior Health Department official said ambulance drivers have now threatened to stop services. “We have held discussions with the administration to prevent such incidents,”

Health Commissioner Atal Dhiloo told The Indian Express. “Some of our people have been injured. I have asked our officers to extend whatever help we can give.”