World | India
Police ordered to shoot curfew violators as protests grip Kashmir
Police said they would shoot on sight anyone violating a curfew in one town of Indian Kashmir on Wednesday with riots erupting across the region.
- Agencies
- Published: 17:55 August 13, 2008
Srinagar: Police said they would shoot on sight anyone violating a curfew in Kashmir on Wednesday with riots erupting across the region.
The police have been ordered to shoot protesters on sight in Kishtwar, according to a senior police officer. "This last option becomes the first in order not to let the situation go out of hand."
In Srinagar, the main city in the region, several thousand protesters took to the streets, attacking police posts and chanting slogans calling for revenge.
Protests gripped cities across Kashmir with some demonstrators lighting government buildings on fire and throwing rocks. Dozens of protesters and police were wounded, although exact figures were unavailable, police said.
Separatist political leaders called for three days of mourning and urged people to keep their protests peaceful.
On Wednesday, the protests spilled over to other parts of India, with Hindu nationalist groups blocking traffic and railway lines for several hours in New Delhi, Mumbai and the tourist hub of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal.
In New Delhi and Mumbai several dozen activists from the World Hindu Organisation, blocked roads for up to two hours. Some 50 protesters were detained in Mumbai, said police officer Pran Gokhale.
Meanwhile, in Agra, activists blocked railway lines for several hours disrupting rail schedules across northern India, said railway official Nirmal Sharma.
Earlier Wednesday, thousands of people streamed out of their homes to buy supplies as authorities relaxed a curfew for several hours.
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