Indian Kashmir: Two dead in clashes with police

SRINAGAR:

A civilian protester and a suspected militant were killed in clashes with government forces on Wednesday in the disputed Indian-administered Kashmir, police said.

After receiving a tip-off about the presence of suspected rebels in Naina, some 35km south of Srinagar, soldiers cordoned off the village on Tuesday night triggering a gun battle.

“One (alleged) militant was killed during the overnight encounter,” DIG Nitish Kumar told AFP.

Hundreds of villagers angry at the killing of the suspected rebel threw rocks at police who fired back using tear gas and bullets, killing a protester and injuring two others, Kumar said.

The protesters, chanting “We want freedom” and “Go India, go back” also torched an armoured police vehicle that was sent to help soldiers withdraw from the area after the gun battle ended.

Kashmir has been divided between South Asian rivals India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2016.