No respite in Kashmir; 4 killed in firing

Four people were killed and 15 injured as violence erupted again in Kashmir on Monday.
 
A senior police officer said security forces opened fire at hundreds of stone pelting protestors on the Srinagar Muzaffarabad Road near Palhallan on Monday afternoon, killing 15-year-old Showkat Ahmad Malik, a student of class 9, on the spot.
 
He said security forces failed to quell the protests by using teargas and baton charges, and finally resorted to firing.

Mohammad Ramzan, 35, who was critically wounded in the police firing at Palhallan, also succumbed to his injuries later, said a senior police officer.

A third person, Noor-ud-din, also succumbed to his injuries. One more person succumbed to injuries late night, taking the death toll to four.

Fifteen others, who were injured in the firing, were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The condition of Mohammad Ashraf Mir, who received a critical bullet wound in his neck, was reportedly critical. A team of doctors is presently operating upon Mir in the Soura Medical Institute to revive him.
 
Official sources said security forces were trying to clear the highway for the smooth passage of the motorcade of a senior police officer who was on his way to north Kashmir's Baramulla town.
 
The ongoing cycle of violence which began on June 11, after teenager Tufail Ahmad Mattoo was killed by a tear smoke shell, has so far claimed 67 lives. Hundreds of others have been wounded; some of them have been crippled for life.
 
There were reports of heavy stone pelting from the old city and south Kashmir's Pampore town.
 
Hard-line separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had called for an afternoon break in his 'protest calendar' to allow people to participate in the night-long prayers during the festival of Shabe-Qadr.