Violent protests in Indian Kashmir over student's death

Jul 8, 2009, 9:48 GMT

   Srinagar, Kashmir - Violent protests disrupted life in the capital of India-administered Kashmir Wednesday, after the body of a missing youth was found in the city, officials said.

   Local residents alleged that Asrar Mushtaq Dar, 20, died in police custody. Srinagar police denied having detained Dar, who was missing since Saturday.

   Soon after the body of the student was recovered from the old quarter of the city, groups of young men took to the streets, threw stones and enforced a strike in several parts of the city.

   The protestors set fire to a police van and stoned police vehicles in different areas of the city, police said.

   Police opened fire, used canes and tear-gas to disperse stone-throwing rioters in several areas including Pratap Park and the Kashmir University campus, but there were no reports of casualties.

   Authorities imposed a curfew in the Maisuma area, where the victim lived, which continued to be tense.

   The Muslim-majority Kashmir valley has witnessed violent protests since last month over the deaths of two local women, who residents allege were raped and murdered by members of Indian paramilitary forces.

   There were more protests last week after a woman complained of harassment at a police station in Baramulla, 50 kilometres north of Srinagar. The demonstrations left four protestors dead and scores injured.

   Large numbers of soldiers have been deployed to check attacks in the state, where there has been separatist militancy since the 1980s. Local residents and human rights groups have often accused the police and troops of human rights violations.