Tourist hit by stone-pelters in Kashmir dies

SRINAGAR: A tourist injured in stone-throwing by protesters in Kashmir has died, authorities in the state and centre said on Monday. The incident took place Monday morning in Narbal, on the outskirts of Srinagar. He had been moved to a hospital at around 10:30 am with serious injuries. He slipped into a coma and died at about 8:30 Monday evening.

The tourist has been identified as 22-year-old R Thirumani had come to Kashmir from Chennai and was part of a group that was headed to Gulmarg. He had suffered severe injuries.

Last week, two children were injured, one critically, when protesters threw stones at a school bus in Shopian in south Kashmir. There were more than 50 children on the bus, including four-year-old nursery students of a private school.

Despite frequent clashes with security forces, protesters in Kashmir have generally not been known to target civilians or tourists. The attack on the school bus and the tourist's death have serious consequences for the state, heavily reliant on tourism for its revenue.