Sayar Ahmad Sheikh was hit by a tear smoke shell in the head at Tukroo when security personnel were trying to disperse a group of stone-pelting protestors, a police official said.
Restrictions are in place in the area under Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits assembly of four or more people. Sheikh was among the dozens of protesters who were challenged by security forces when they marched in a village defying restrictions. The official said Sheikh was rushed to the sub-district hospital at Rajpora where doctors declared him brought dead.
Another youth, Yawar Bhat, died in security forces’ action after protesters indulged in stone pelting at Botengoo in Anantnag district, the official said. Bhat sustained pellet injuries during the clashes, he said.
Though considered non-lethal, pellet guns have been under scrutiny with reports of many of its victims losing sight and deaths. Under pressure, the government has proposed to introduce substitutes to pellet guns for crowd control. In Srinagar, the family of a man who died in a hospital Friday night claimed he was beaten by security personnel, but police records say he succumbed to injuries he had suffered in a road accident. Abdul Qayoom, 47, was a driver with the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution department and a resident of the old city of Srinagar.
Kashmir has been on the boil since security forces killed militant commander Wani on July 8.
Over 12,000 civilians and security personnel have been injured in the unrest and the Valley has been observing a separatist-called shutdown for over two months.
Efforts by the Centre and the state government to restore peace have failed to yield results with Kashmiri separatists refusing to be a part of the dialogue process. Kashmir was shut for the 64th consecutive day and all educational institutions, markets and public transport were shuttered.
People in Srinagar came out of their homes during the 12-hour period (6pm – 6am) when separatists relaxed their shutdown to shop and prepare for Eid, which is scheduled on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, suspected militants attacked a CRPF camp in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district late on Friday night but there was no casualty or damage. A group of militants fired at a CRPF camp in Tahab area of Pulwama late last night, a police official said here on Saturday. He said the CRPF personnel retaliated, forcing the militants to flee. There was no casualty on either side, the official said. This is the second such attack on the security forces in the district in the last four days.
Militants had fired a few rounds towards police station Pulwama on the night of September 7 but there was also no damage.
Meanwhile, the Central Reserve Police Force also gave out the extent of the damage it suffered since Friday. “14 CRPF personnel injured & 2 CRPF vehicle damaged in 44 incidents of stone-pelting involving the Force in the Kashmir Valley in past 24 hrs,” the Force said on twitter.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti appreciated the efforts of the all-party delegation and urged that separatists should have put across an implementable roadmap for resolution of Kashmir issue instead of shying away from meeting them and being “caught in darkness”.
Attending a function, she also voiced hope that the Centre will initiate an inclusive engagement through an institutionalised mechanism to address the issue and the separatists will respond positively to it.