SRINAGAR – Indian troops have launched violent cordon and search operations (CASOs) in Kulgam and Islamabad districts of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, .
The troops cordoned off Yamrach area of Kulgam district, last night and launched searches after sealing off all the entry and exit points of the area.
The Indian soldiers also launched a similar operation in Khanabal area of Islamabad district.
This follows the killing of a civilian by Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force when they fired on his vehicle near Kawoosa Khalisa in Narbal area of Budgam district.
The CRPF, in a statement Wednesday, said the man was driving a car and ignored signals to stop at two checkpoints in the western outskirts of Srinagar, the region’s main city. It said “the soldiers feared sabotage because a military convoy was passing by at the time”.
Indian troops shoot Kashmiri man dead, triggering fresh protests
The victim’s father, Ghulam Nabi Shah, denied the police account, saying his son did not drive through any checkpoints, and that soldiers first stopped him and then shot him.
As news of his death spread in his village, hundreds of men and women began chanting “Go India, go back” and “We want freedom” and demanded that the victim´s body be returned to the family for burial. Authorities did not immediately hand over the body, triggering protests by villagers who threw stones at the troops. In response to stones, the Indian soldiers fired shotgun pellets and tear gas to quell the protests.
Indian forces have been carrying operations against freedom fighters during a stringent lockdown in the disputed Himalayan region since late March to combat the coronavirus.
