Srinagar,
July 31, 2010: Indian paramilitary forces opened fire to quell
protesters, leaving at least three persons dead and 50 others injured.
Several on them received bullet and tear-gas shelling injuries.
Police say paramilitary soldiers have fired on thousands of demonstrators in Kashmir, killing three men and injuring at least 50 others, as protests against Indian rule spread across the region.
Authorities imposed strict restrictions on the movement of people to
protest against the killing of youths in firing by police and
paramilitary forces since June 11 this year in Srinagar, Sopore,
Baramulla, Islamabad areas.
Two people were killed when opened fire on a mob at Aramgarh village
of Sopore, in Baramulla district this afternoon. Shoukat Ahmad Chopan
and Mohammad Ahsan Ganai were killed and a dozen others injured when
Indian CRPF paramilitary forces opened fire on a mob in Sopore. Chopan
and Ganai succumbed to injuries on way to hospital.
Doctors at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar
said two youth, Ahsem Ganai and Showkat Chopan, were brought dead. Out of 50 injured in clashes, 10 suffered bullet injuries and were
undergoing treatment in different hospitals. The condition of two of
them is stated to be "critical", officials said.
India paramilitary forces used brute force and stopped people who
took to streets shortly after Friday prayers and were heading towards
Sopore town. However, the protesters denied IIndian armed personnel in
uniform opened fire, resulting in injuries to seven persons who were
rushed to hospital.
A police officer, on condition of anonymity, said troops fired on
protesters chanting pro-freedom slogans in Pattan, Kreeri iand Sopore
towns. Two people were killed in Sopore and one died in Pattan, the
officer and a local doctor said.
According to reports, two youth were killed and a dozen persons
received bullet injuries when paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) and Railway Protection Force Personnel (RPF) opened fire on a
group of demonstrators at Amargarh in Sopore after Friday prayers.
Witnesses said the two men were shot when forces opened fire on a
demonstration in Sopore town, both died on the way to hospital. "Both
men had bullet wounds and were dead by the time they reached us," a
doctor in Srinagar's main hospital told Writer-South Asia.
Six people including a teenager identified as Iqbal Ahmad Khan was
critically injured in Chanapora area of Srinagar city, when CRPF
troopers opened fire on mob there on Friday morning. The 22-year-old
Iqbal Ahmad Khan son of Abdul Majid Khan who, among several others, was
injured in firing by paramilitary forces in Chanapora Friday morning
continues to be in a critical condition. Medical Superintendent (MS) of
the Soura Institute of Medical Sciences Dr Amin Taabish told media men
that Iqbal's condition was still "unstable and critical". He did not
elaborate further on his condition.
