SHOPIAN (Occupied Kashmir) – People in Indian occupied Kashmir have shut down businesses in protest against the killing of two young men at the hands of Indian forces.
Javid Bhat and Suhail Lone, both in their 20s, were killed when the Indian army opened fire on protesters in Ganaupora village in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Saturday afternoon. Another youth, who sustained bullet injuries, is struggling for his life at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar.
On Sunday, almost all businesses and institutions, including government offices and schools, remained closed, and traffic stayed off the streets across the main city of Srinagar.
A large number of policemen and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear patrolled the streets across the Muslim-majority region.
The Jammu and Kashmir police registered an FIR against the Indian army over the killing of two civilians in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, officials said on Sunday.
Authorities also imposed a curfew in the old parts of Srinagar, which is the urban center of protests against Indian rule. Mobile internet services were also shut down in the southern parts of the region.
The Indian army said soldiers fired in “self-defense” as the crowd tried to “lynch” an officer and damaged at least four vehicles.
Local residents say Saturday’s deadly incident began when troops came into a village and started removing banners honoring recently killed fighters. Locals resisted the move, threw stones at the soldiers and chanted anti-India slogans.
A senior police officer confirmed that an FIR (26/2018) was filed at the Shopian police station against the (Indian) army’s 10th Garhwal Rifles. “The charges under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 336 (endangering life) are pressed,” the officer said.
After the Saturday’s incident, Mehbooba Mufti called up defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to express anguish over the civilian deaths.
Sitharaman assured the chief minister that she would seek a detailed report on the matter and will ensure that such incidents do not recur.
The deputy commissioner of Shopian has been asked to probe the incident and submit a report within 20 days.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah also expressed his anguish over the civilian deaths. “2 civilians dead & many others injured. The first month of 2018 has been a terrible one for J&K, death has cast its ugly shadow far too often already,” he tweeted.
