India Kashmir leader seeks action over protest killing

Jan 3, 2012, 13:36 GMT

New Delhi - India-administered Kashmir's chief minister Tuesday condemned the killing of a protestor by soldiers as 'inexcusable' amid growing anger in the insurgency-hit state.

Twenty-two year-old student Mohammad Altaf was allegedly killed by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) soldiers Monday in the northern Baramulla district during protests over long power-cuts.

'The circumstances will have to be treated not as a case of self-defence but as a case of excessive use of force,' Omar Abdullah told the broadcaster NDTV as he faced protests during a visit to meet the student's family.

'The location of the injuries, the number of rounds that were fired, all of it point to an inexcusable, excessive use of force that was unwarranted,' he said.

Police said the soldiers opened fire after protestors tried to storm the powerhouse operated by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation. Five CISF soldiers have been arrested and a criminal case had been filed, police said.

There was widespread anger over the killing as villagers said the protests were justified by 14-hour-long power cuts in sub-zero temperatures in the Himalayan state.

Indian Kashmir witnesses frequent protests against New Delhi's rule and security forces there are routinely accused by human rights groups of using excessive force and torture.

The disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir region is divided into parts administered by India and Pakistan.

More than 45,000 people - including civilians, militants and troops - have died in secessionist strife in India-administered Kashmir over the past two decades.

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