Mystery killing sparks violent rage in Srinagar

Srinagar: A fresh wave of violent protests broke out on Wednesday in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir after a 20-year-old university student was found dead.

At least 20 people were injured in clashes that followed violent stirs over the mysterious rape and murder of two women in a south Kashmir village in May.

Four protesters were killed in alleged police firing in north Kashmir's Baramulla and Sopore towns last month.

The body of Asrar Ahmad Dar, a student who was reported missing from uptown Maisuma area since Saturday, was found in Rainawari, a thickly populated area in old Srinagar.

Police said the young man had been apparently killed with a "sharp-edged weapon" as his body bore stab wounds.

City police chief Afadul Mujtaba said Dar was abducted by unidentified people and was "murdered".

"Only a forensic report would tell us about the cause of death but it appears that he has been killed with some sharp-edged weapon," Mujtaba said.

Mystery shrouds the identity of the killers but residents blame police and other security agencies of having a hand in the victim's abduction.

As the news of the killing spread, people took to the streets in a violent rage, pelting parked vehicles with stones.

Protesters also set afire to two security vehicles, smashed shop-fronts and blocked traffic on key junctions.

Tension escalated as police and central paramilitary forces used tear gas and batons to quell the protesters who were shouting anti-Indian slogans.

Students of a college where Dar was studying took to the streets and forced businesses in the area to close shop.

Students of Kashmir University also held a demonstration inside the campus.