Teen’s body found with pellet injuries in J&K

The death toll in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir went up to 81 as the pellet-ridden body of a youth was found in Srinagar on Saturday.

The unrest in the Valley that began following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8 has now claimed 86 lives, including two policemen.

“Forces barged into residential houses in SK Colony area and thrashed the inmates”, an eyewitness said adding that six people sustained injuries in these clashes.

Three civilians have been killed in clashes with security forces since Eid on 13 September.

Tension escalated in the summer capital Srinagar on Saturday after killing of a teenage student in Harwan area of the city last evening, following which the authorities imposed strict restriction in the city and peripheries in anticipation of protests.

Another police official said almost 100 people, mostly protesters, had been wounded in the latest demonstrations.

Indian police and troops used brute force against the protesters leading to massive clashes between the protesters and the forces’ personnel.

Earlier, reports said that clashes erupted after forces tried to foil a rally in the area.

The curbs and separatists-sponsored shutdown crippled life for the 70th consecutive day in the Valley.

Thirteen-year-old Bashit Mukhtar of Pulwama succumbed to injuries at a Srinagar hospital on Friday. The official said curfew was also enforced in the towns of Badgam in central Kashmir and Pulgam in south.

As the news of the boy’s death spread, thousands of villagers from other areas gathered in Harwan to hold protest demonstrations.

Curfew-like restrictions were imposed in Srinagar and parts of Kashmir Valley on Friday to prevent protests even as 10 people were injured in clashes with forces in Dooru village, Anantnag. Shops, business establishments and petrol pumps continued to remain shut while public transport was off the roads.