Over a dozen people including four policemen were injured Saturday when police and protestors exchanged teargas shells and stones in parts of Srinagar and Valley after Eid prayers, police said, adding that ISIS and Pakistan flags were also waved at some places in downtown city.The clashes erupted after Eid prayers when youth in Nowhatta Chowk and Eidgah area of downtown city waved Pakistan and ISIS flags and raised pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. Police has to resort to teargas shelling when youth pelted stones on them resulting in injuries to over a dozen including a lady, a minor girl and four policemen.Pertinently, Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani has given a call of peaceful protests after Eid prayers across Kashmir. Police has kept all the separatists under house arrest “as a precautionary measure” to ensure safe passing of Eid congregational prayers and celebrations.
Talking to KNS, DIG Central Kashmir Ghulam Hassan Bhat said that police had to fire teargas shells in self-defence and to contain the situation going out of hand. “Youth pelted heavy stones on police resulting in injury to four of men. In self defence police fired teargas shells in which a woman and a minor girl were injured. Both of them were shifted to SHMS hospital where she was treated and later discharged. The clashes continued only for an hour after prayers, after which the situation remained normal,” he said.Meanwhile, reports of violent clashes were received from Anantnag where CRPF cops have went berserk in the areas of Cheeni Chowk and Reshi Bazar and smashing the window panes of many residential houses. Many vehicles parked in streets and on roadsides too were damaged during the ding-dong battle between protestors and force personnel, many of whom have also received injuries. Sporadic protests were also held in Baramulla and Sopore after Eid prayers, but police said these were mostly peaceful.
Police said that they had to fire teargas shells in self defence and to maintain law and order. They said the clashes happened despite the “precautionary measures” of putting under house arrest the top separatist leaders, which include Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, senior separatist leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan and Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, Ayaz Akhber.Protest demonstrations were also held outside the residence of Geelani in Hyderpora to protest his house arrest by police. (KNS)