One more killed in fresh firing as PM reviews J&K situation, toll rises to 32

Srinagar: Fresh protests rocked Kashmir valley on Tuesday raising the death toll to 32, and leaving more than 30 injured, in what is viewed as the worst unrest in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990.

Amir Nazir Latoo, a student of Delhi University, was the latest causality of the clashes that ensued after the encounter of Hiuzbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.

Latoo, who was pursuing M.Com at Delhi University, was one of the three people critically injured in police firing at Zirpora on Monday. He was in Kashmir to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with his family, and died in a Srinagar hospital overnight.

Another person was killed when police opened fire on a mob which targeted a police station in Kupwara on Tuesday afternoon.

Police officials confirmed 24 deaths citing lack of records, but added that 1,400 people have been injured in firing by the security forces. Stone pelting incidents have also left 150 security personnel wounded since Friday night, leaving Srinagar hospitals overwhelmed.

An estimated 400 people have received bullet and pellet injuries above their waist line, and 62 of them are at risk of losing eyesight, as a result of crackdown by the security forces.

A medical emergency has been declared across the state, with hospitals facing shortage of medicines and blood. Appeals are being made to donors to come forward and help cope with the situation. The restrictions have also resulted in shortage of food, medicine and other essentials. Free langars are being organised by volunteers to feed the needy.

Meanwhile, thousands visited slain militant Burhan Wani’s house and grave in Tral, to offer condolences to his family on Rasm-e-Qul ceremony, held on the fourth day of death. Banners and graffiti hailing Wani as a martyr dotted Tral. ‘Burhan-the pride of the Kashmiri Nation’ read one such banner.

However, in a joint statement, key separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik asked the police force to ‘introspect, identify and align themselves’ with ‘ill-treated and oppressed’ fellow Kashmiris instead of ‘becoming an instrument of repression at the hands of authorities’.

Claiming that they failed the basic responsibility towards their own community, the statement added that policemen were incurring wrath and dislike of their people. “The people of Kashmir are so angry and disillusioned with them (policemen) for their role that they are asking the leadership to excommunicate them and socially boycott them,” the statement added.

Mirwaiz has separately written to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon seeking his 'effective intervention to stop the killing spree and massacre of unarmed civilian population in Kashmir’.

The separatist leaders who recently formed an issue-based loose alliance are currently under house arrest following Wani’s death.

Read: Modi takes stock, appeals for peace in violence-hit Kashmir valley

In Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting to review the Kashmir situation soon after his return from five-day Africa visit. The meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

"He (PM) has appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to maintain peace so that the situation can normalise. He (PM) also expressed hope that no innocent person should face any kind of inconvenience or loss," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said after the meeting.

Assuring all possible help to the state government, the Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction over the progress of the Amarnath Yatra. "The Prime Minister kept taking updates about the Jammu and Kashmir situation during his visit abroad. The biggest evidence of his concern is that he called this review meeting within hours of returning from the tour," Singh said.

Read: Police officer's wife, daughter beaten up by mob in J&K

In Kashmir, while normal life remained paralysed, unidentified militants targeted a police post in Sopore, firing seven to eight rounds but no one was injured.

In another incident, unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb towards security forces posted on law and order duty in Noorbagh area of Srinagar, an official said, adding nobody was injured.

The separatist groups yesterday extended the strike call till July 13 to coincide with the 85th anniversary of those who laid down their lives fighting the Aristocratic rule in the state in 1931.

Meanwhile, a report from southern Pulwama said that a mob barged into the house of a police official Muhammad Ashraf and thrashed his wife and daughter. The victims have been hospitalised. Police officials said that Ashraf was away on duty when the incident occurred.

Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps remained shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said. Public transport was completely off the roads for the fourth consecutive day, while private cars and autorickshaws were seen plying at few places.