Srinagar, July 30 (IANS) Two people were killed and two others critically injured Friday when Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers opened fire on a mob damaging the railway tracks in north Kashmir’s Sopore town.
With the latest deaths, the number of those killed in firing by security forces on protesters in the Valley since June 11 has gone up to 17.
The two, identified as Muhammad Ahsan Ganai and Showkat Ahmad Wagay, were killed when CRPF troopers opened fire at the protesters in Sopore, 54 km from here, near the Amargarh railway track, a senior police official said here.
‘Two other critically injured persons have been shifted to Srinagar for specialised treatment’, the official added
Reports said the mob had damaged a portion of the track during protests there.
A teenager identified as Iqbal Ahmad Khan was critically injured in Chanapora area of Srinagar city, 5 km from city centre Lal Chowk, when CRPF troopers opened fire on an unruly mob there this morning.
Doctors at the Sher-e-Kashmir Medical Institute Soura (SKIMS), who operated on Khan, said his condition was ‘unstable and critical’.
‘He has been put on life support system and his condition remains critical,’ an attending doctor told IANS.
Widespread protests erupted in Chanapora, Rambagh, Barzalla, Hyderpora and other areas after the news about the firing incident spread in the city.
Authorities moved in quickly with reinforcements and announced curfew in the entire city after the Chanapora incident.
Earlier restrictions had been enforced in uptown Maisuma and old city areas of Srinagar to scuttle post-Friday prayer protests called by the separatists and a march to Maisuma area which the hardline separatist Hurriyat group headed by Syed Ali Geelani had announced.
Clashes also erupted between protesters and security forces in the Tral town in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district where 20 people including 12 protesters and eight security men have been injured.
One of the injured protesters was shifted to Srinagar for treatment after being hit by a tear smoke shell in the face.
Tensions have heightened in the entire Valley after the news about the civilians’ deaths spread.
