J&K: 5 people injured in mob-police clashes

At least five people were injured as people took to the streets at several places across Kashmir valley and clashed with security personnel on Tuesday, while the separatist-sponsored strike against the killing of a youth paralysed life for the second successive day.

Prohibitory orders remained strictly in force in the old city for the second day to avert untoward incidents and maintain law and order.

An irate mob, protesting the killing of Javid Ahmad Malla, hit the streets in Baramulla town, 55 km from Srinagar, on Tuesday morning and indulged in stone pelting on police and paramilitary personnel at nearly half a dozen places including local police station, triggering clashes, official sources said.

They said no one was hurt during the clashes as police guards posted at the police station exercised restraint.

Angry youths also indulged in stone pelting at Fruit Mandi in Parimpora area of the city after two people were arrested by the police, the sources said.

Locals alleged that police and paramilitary personnel thrashed them and ransacked their houses after they staged a demonstration against the arrest of two people from the locality.

At least five people were injured in the incident. However, the police denied the charges. They said two people were detained while the protestors were being chased.

The police lobbed teargas shells and resorted to cane charge when a group of protesters damaged a security vehicle in Nunaar-Ganderbal, 25 km from Srinagar.

The police fired teargas shells to disperse a stone-pelting mob in Maisuma in the heart of the city, but there was no report of any casualty, the sources said.

Residents of old city complained that curfew has been imposed as they were not allowed to move out of their houses, but police denied having imposed curfew and said law enforcing agencies were only strictly implementing prohibitory orders.

As a result of strike and strict implementation of prohibitory orders in old city, life remained crippled in Srinagar and elsewhere in the valley for the second successive day.

Shops and business markets, educational institutions, banks and semi-government offices remained closed in response to the call given by hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.