11 killed, 126 injured as violence hits Kashmir after Hizbul chief Burhan Wani's death

[Mr.Karizmatic]

Srinagar: Kashmir was on Saturday rattled by widespread mob violence and clashes which left 11 people dead and 126, including 96 security forces personnel, injured even as curfew was clamped across the Valley and mobile internet services suspended to contain the fallout of gunning down of militant commander Burhan Wani.

A top official said curfew has been imposed across the Valley and restrictions put in place to avert fresh trouble.

Three policemen were also missing after a large mob attacked a police station, set it ablaze and used its weaponary to shoot and injure three cops, police said.

Police firing tear gas shells against agitators during a protest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani in Srinagar on Saturday. PTI

The eight protesters killed on Saturday were identified as Aijaz Ahmed Thokru, a resident of Siligam in Anantnag, Yawar Manzoor Kondru of Anantnag, Khursheed Ahmed of Kulgam and Zubair Ahmed also of Kulgam, who was injured on Friday but succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, Adil Bashir of Dooru, Anantnag, Abdul Hamid Mochi of Arwami village in Anantnag, Shaukat Ahmed of Bijbehara andMohammad Asif of Kukurnag.

All except Kondru who drowned in the Jhelum as security forces sought to disperse a violent mob were killed when security forces retaliated to attacks by violent mobs on police stations, mobile posts, security force pickets, police patrols and security force vehicles, the officials said.

Two more injured succumbed to injuries in hospital but were yet to be identified.

Defying prohibitory orders, a surging crowd of over 20,000 people on Saturday attended the burial of Wani in Tral town in Pulwama.

Shouting pro-Islam and pro-Azadi slogans, mourners appeared surcharged and youths raised slogans vowing to follow Wani's path.

Amid the protests, militants attacked a police station in Pulwama as well as a tehsildar's office in Tral and attacked private and public vehicles on the highway, which was thwarted by the security forces .

In view of the volatile situation, Amarnath Yatra was also suspended, with police saying it will be resumed "as soon as it is possible to ensure security of yatris".

The administration also announced that all exams from school to university level had been postponed as well as the National Eligibility Test and interviews of the State Public Commission.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti appealed for calm while expressing "profound" grief and agony over the deaths during the protests and asked security forces to avoid use of disproportionate force for crowd control. "Violence only brings miseries to the people and tragedies for the victim families," she said and appealed people, especially the youth not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the dead bodies of Kashmiris.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voiced apprehension of a likely spurt in militancy in the Valley in the wake of Wani's killing.

"Mark my words - Burhan's ability to recruit in to militancy from the grave will far outstrip anything he could have done on social media," the National Conference leader said in a series of tweets.

He also asserted that Wani had become the new 'icon' for the disaffected community in the valley.

"After many years I hear slogans for "Azadi" resonate from the mosque in my uptown Srinagar locality. Kashmir's disaffected got a new icon yesterday," he said in another tweet.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Centre is working with the state government to bring normalcy in the Valley. He also expressed "deep anguish" over the "loss of precious lives in the incidents of violence" in Kashmir and appealed for calm.

Separatists, including hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, moderate Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik earlier called for a day's strike to protest Wani's killing. Later, they announced to continue their shutdown on Sunday and Monday too to protest the "killing spree by the Indian security forces".

Lashkar-e Taiba militant outfit and Asiya Andrabi, the radical chief of women separatist outfit Dukhtaran-e-Milat, called for a three-day shutdown in the Kashmir valley.

As Burhan, the 21-year-old poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit, was laid to rest in his native place Tral, violent mobs attacked installations of police and paramilitary forces at various places in the Valley and set ablaze several buildings including three police installations, as a result of which three cops were missing.

Burhan's funeral was attended by thousands of people. There was no deployment of security forces in Tral and adjoining areas to avoid a confrontation with the people coming to participate in the funeral.

"We have had a very difficult day today," said ADGP (CID) of J&K Police S M Sahai while describing the situation "bad in certain segments", "not critical" in areas like north Kashmir and under control in Srinagar.

Eleven people were killed in the clashes between violent protestors and security forces at various places in the Valley that erupted a day after Burhan's killing.

Eight were killed in "retaliatory" action by security forces, Sahai said, adding one person died due to drowning.

"It is very unfortunate that young lives were lost in clashes," Sahai told reporters and appealed to the parents to restrain their children from participating in such protests so that young lives are not lost.

The militants are trying to "superimpose their attacks"on public protests, he said, while informing that there was
also a militant attack on District Police Lines in Pulwama which the security forces thwarted.

To a volley of questions, including why Burhan was gunned down and not caught alive, Sahai said, "We certainly don't want to kill youngsters of our own society."

He said the Hizb commander and two others got killed when security forces retaliated after being fired upon by the trio from a house in which they were hiding. Two security personnel were injured in that firing, he added.