A young man has been killed and several others injuredduring clashes between Indian forces and protesters in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
The fresh fierce clashes erupted on Wednesday after Indian troops tried to stop thousands of Kashmiri protesters defying a curfew in the southern town of Pulwama.
The local police superintendent said the casualties were caused as Indian troops fired tear gas and shotguns to disperse the crowd.
"This youth died of (shotgun) pellet injuries, Rayees Mohammad Bhat said.
Witnesses and local residentssaid Indian forcesindiscriminately fired shotgunsto disperse the crowd, adding that the agitated protesters responded with rocks.
The angry demonstrators were protesting against recent civilian killings at the hands of Indian forces across the Muslim-majority region.
The protests came as Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh is in the disputed region to discuss the unrest with local political, business and other leaders.
The visit came days after pro-Indian Kashmiri politicians urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take serious measures to haltweeks-long deadly violencein the disputed region.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"]
Indian paramilitary troopers stand guard during a curfew in Batmaloo area in Srinagar on August 17, 2016. (AFP photo)[/caption]A delegation of politicians, led by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, on Monday met with Modi in the Indian capital of New Delhi, seeking an immediate ban on pellet guns and calling forthe premiers intervention in ending the unrest in Kashmir.
Modis office in a recent statement stressed the need for dialogue to end the unrest.
The latest wave of violence erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir on July 8, when people protested against the killing of Burhan Wani, a popular pro-independence fighter, by Indian forces.
At least 66 people have so far been killed and thousands more injured during clashes between protesters and Indian forces.
Indian forces have imposed a curfew across large parts of Kashmir since July.
There are an estimated 500,000 Indian troops currently deployed in the restive territory.
India and Pakistan have claimedKashmir in full since they won independence from British rule in 1947, but they have only partial control over it.
Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Kashmir since early 1990s.
By Press TV
