Troops fired on nearly 1,500 protesters chanting pro-independence slogans in Sopore town, said a police officer.  The officer said the protesters had tried to damage a railway track and hurled rocks at the troops guarding the track. However, residents said they were holding a peaceful protest march after offering Friday prayers when the soldiers opened fire.

Three of those wounded were in critical condition, the police officer said, adding that other clashes erupted in several nearby villages after the shooting. Protests and clashes were also reported from several other towns in the region. Earlier Friday, violence erupted Srinagar after two men were wounded when paramilitary forces opened fire on a group of anti-India protesters. The soldiers shot at rock-throwing demonstrators, wounding two young men — one critically — in the Chanapora neighborhood in Srinagar. 

The officer said the protesters began marching on the main road in Chanapora on Friday after separatists called for a march to Srinagar’s central Maisuma district.

Residents, however, said the injured men were not part of the demonstration, and soldiers shot them near their homes.

As the news of shooting spread, thousands of residents in the city took to the streets chanting, “Go, India! Go back” and “We want freedom!”

Friday’s deaths bring the number killed in the recent protests to 19. Earlier this week, local authorities asked two retired judges to investigate the deaths.

Meanwhile shops, businesses and schools remained shut in Kashmir, and thousands of armed police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled largely deserted streets.

In most parts of Srinagar, government troops asked people to stay indoors to prevent protests against Indian rule.

Separatists have told people to observe strikes to protest Indian rule for five days this week, excluding Tuesday and Saturday to allow people to stock up on food and other essentials.