SRINAGAR, 25 February 2006 — Life throughout the Kashmir Valley was paralyzed yesterday as shops and businesses were shut following widespread public condemnation of the killings of four village youth in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday.
Bandipora town in north Kashmir was gripped by high tension as villagers from the nearby Argam village carrying the body of a woman marched into the town shouting slogans against the security forces and the government.
The irate villagers said the woman identified as Sara had been killed when a shell fired by the army in the nearby Chattibandi village during an encounter with holed up militants hit her house.
Police confirmed that three militants and two Indian Army soldiers had been killed in the Chattibandi encounter that had started late on Thursday night.
The entire summer capital Srinagar was paralyzed yesterday as angry mobs surfaced up at a number of places both in the downtown and the uptown areas. The mob torched tires and blocked streets following a two-day protest shutdown call given by both the groups of separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the moderate group headed by Umar Farooq.
Widespread protests throughout the valley entered the second day following the killing of four village youths in Dudipora village of Kupwara district on Wednesday.
In downtown city protesters clashed with police after the Friday prayers. Paramilitary troops fired warning shots and police used tear gas and batons to disperse the stone-throwing mobs. Security was tight in Srinagar. Shops, business establishments and banks remained closed in the city.
