Angry scenes were witnessed in parts of Kashmir as India scrambled to re-impose restrictions in Srinagar after a youth died following his injury during a protest, the first official death since India revoked the state’s autonomy last month.
Sixteen-year old Asrar Ahmad Khan, a Class 11 student, received serious injuries in a protest march. Two other boys also received injuries in the incident.
This is the first death, confirmed officially, since the state’s autonomy was repealed on August 5. Fearing an escalation in violence, authorities were quick to re-impose restrictions in several parts of the capital city.
“He was reportedly injured with a blunt object in a law and order situation where a violent crowd was indulging in stone pelting,” Dilbag Singh, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police, told the news agency Reuters.
Khan, who was admitted to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura, died shortly after midnight on Wednesday, officials told the local media.
The official line, however, is at variance with ground and multiple media reports that say the student died as a result of pellet wounds in his head.
Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, Commander, XV Corps of the Indian Army in Srinagar, noted that a stone hit Asrar on August 6, resulting in his death today. “These deaths have happened because of terrorists, stone pelters and puppets of Pakistan,” he added.
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Anger beneath the surface
More than 80 civilians have sustained pellet injuries in Kashmir Valley during the last one month, the Indian Express newspaper reports quoting official sources. As per the local police, several people have sustained pellet injuries during “stray” protests when restrictions imposed after the repeal of Article 370 were relaxed.
The Himalayan state has been particularly tense since August 5 as the Hindu nationalist government of India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, abrogated Article 370 in an unprecedented move. The authorities have arrested most of the political leadership, including former chief ministers, in Kashmir.
India has deployed additional paramilitary police, banned public gatherings and cut all mobile phones and internet links to prevent large-scale protests in Kashmir.
