[Reader-list] Helps sometimes to know what is happening in India's Greeeat Democracy!

[Junaid]

1. Hundreds of Kashmiris herded into jails in crackdowns sweeping
across the Valley.

http://www.kashmirlive.com/story/JK-Police-pick-up-100-people-for-stone-pelting/487744.html

Agencies
Posted online: July 10, 2009 at 1759

Continuing with their crackdown on stone pelters and anti-national
elements, Jammu and Kashmir Police have picked up another 100 people
from various parts of the Valley who were allegedly fomenting trouble
with their acts.

With the fresh arrests, the number of people picked up by the police
has gone well past 400 and the authorities were closely screening
those detained while slapping Public Safety Act on serious offenders,
official sources said.

As many as seven more people have been booked with charges under the
Act. Altogether, the number of such people booked under the Act has
reached 14.

Today over three dozen people were picked up from the Srinagar city
itself and in districts including Baramulla and Anantnag.

The authorities decided to clampdown on stone pelters as they used to
bring the Kashmir Valley to a grinding halt over irrelevant issues,
the sources said.

As many as 50 people were also picked up from Shopian district, which
has been witnessing frequent strikes over the alleged rape and murder
of two women.

Some of the stone pelters have been slapped with serious charges of
attempt to murder because their acts had led to life-threatening
situations for some of the jawans, they said.

The crackdown began from the intervening night of July 8 and July 9
and is expected to continue for some more time till all culprits are
brought to book, the official sources said.

As part of the crackdown, a list of anti-social elements was prepared
in consultation with intelligence agencies and local police stations
after which raids to pick up people who had been disturbing peace in
various districts of the Valley were taken up, they said.

Police have slapped charges ranging from disturbing peace to serious
offences under Section 307 (attempt of murder) on those arrested.

The state tourism industry has taken the biggest hit because of the
strikes, they said, adding that some local journalists, who were
allegedly indulging in spreading rumours and inciting the mobs with
wrong reporting, have also been identified and warned.

2. Another Kashmiri Woman Murdered, attempted rape by Indian Army man.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8143606.stm

By Altaf Hussain
BBC News, Srinagar

Thousands of protesters have marched towards an army base in
Indian-administered Kashmir, following the alleged murder of a young
woman.

Protesters say that the young student from the Kupwara district died
after a member of India's Territorial Army assaulted her.

A general strike over the incident has disrupted life across the
Kashmir Valley as businesses closed down.

The death is the tenth in recent weeks to be blamed on the security forces.

The college student, 20, died after a Territorial Army soldier
allegedly assaulted her at her home in Dolipora village late on
Wednesday night.

Police have charged a soldier with the murder of the young woman.

The incident triggered huge demonstrations in Kupwara on Thursday
which continued late into the night.

Massive discontent

The victim's funeral took place on Friday morning and fresh
demonstrations have been reported from Kupwara on Friday.

Thousands of people, including a large number of women, marched
towards the army camp in Kupwara on Friday morning where the accused
soldier was based.

Shops and colleges have been closed and traffic suspended as a result
of the strike.

The incident comes amid huge discontent over the alleged rape and
murder of two women in Shopian town six weeks ago.

The final report of a probe into the case surrounding the double
murder recently confirmed that police were involved.

Shops in Shopian have been closed for the last 42 days and the case
sparked protests across the Valley.

3. City youth’s murder sparks protests
Police Vehicle Torched, 50 Injured In Clashes, Protesters Free Malik,
Murder Case Registered, Suspects Held

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=9_7_2009&ItemID=130&cat=1

GOWHAR BHAT

Srinagar, July 8: At least 50 persons, including six policemen were
injured, in the clashes between the policemen and protesters in
various parts of the city Wednesday, following the murder of a Maisuma
youth.
 Asrar Mushtaq, 19, a 2nd year student at Islamia College, had gone
missing on Friday evening after he had left home for gymnasium. Police
recovered his throat-slit body from Sheikh Mohalla near Malkha in old
city late last night and handed it over to his family this morning.
 As the word about his death spread this morning, scores of angry
protesters, including men and women, took to streets near Maisuma and
its adjoining localities including Jehangir Chowk, Hari Singh High
Street, Saraibala and staged protests. They blocked the roads by
burning tyres. They later enforced a shutdown in the entire city
centre following which all the shops, banks, educational institutes
were closed.
 As police and paramilitary CRPF personnel tried to control the
protesters, the angry youth attacked several police vehicles. They
intercepted a police bus, JK02R- 5444, near Maisuma and set it ablaze
before beating-up the policemen.
 Police later beat up the protesters with batons and fired tear smoke
canisters to disperse them. The protesters refused to budge and
retailed with stones. Police fired several live rounds in air to
disperse the agitating youth, injuring several of them.
 The protests spread to several parts of the city including Batamaloo,
Rajouri Kadal, Habba Kadal, Nowhatta, Gojwara, Rainawari and other
areas. Huge deployments of police and CRPF troopers used force to
quell the protesters. However, ding dong battles between the
protesters and policemen in different parts of the city continued till
late in the evening.
 In view of the situation, authorities later imposed curfew in Maisuma
and didn’t allow people to come out their homes. In old city,
officials said section 144 was imposed.

PROTESTERS FREE MALIK
 Amid pro-freedom slogans Asrar’s body was taken out from the locality
in the afternoon for burial. The protesters also broke the police
cordon around the residence of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front
chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, who has been under house arrest for
past 2-months, and took him along.  Later thousands of people offered
Asrar’s Nimaz-e-Jinazah near clock tower.

BUILDINGS ATTACKED
 As mourners took his body for burial towards his ancestral graveyard
near Dalgate from Moulana Azad Road, the angry youth attacked several
buildings and hotels including the corporate headquarters of J&K Bank.
They also set ablaze several kiosks of traffic police personnel and
hoardings along the road. Several vehicles were also damaged as they
pelted stones on the government buildings.

OLD CITY
 During protests near Rajouri Kadal, two youth were critically injured
when they were hit by a tear smoke canisters. They were later shifted
to SKIMS where doctors termed the condition of one of the youth, Obaid
Nabi, of Shamsabad, Bemina as critical.
 Late in the evening when the protests subsided, residents of
Batamaloo and Maisuma alleged that the CRPF troopers barged into the
residential houses. They said the troopers smashed the window panes of
houses and thrashed the inmates.

3 INJURED IN NAID KADAL
 At least three persons were injured when paramilitary CRPF troopers
opened fire on the protesters near Naid Kadal in old city on Wednesday
evening, witnesses said.
 They said injured were shifted to a hospital where condition of one
of the youth’s was stated to be critical.

PROTESTS IN KU
 Meanwhile, the Kashmir University students also held protest
demonstrations against the killing of the disappeared youth. The
students raised slogans and marched peacefully towards the main
entrance of the KU where they staged a sit-in. They demanded that the
case be investigated and the culprits be brought to book.

POLICE VERSION
 When contacted the senior superintendent of police, Ahfad-ul-Mujtaba,
said six policemen were injured in the day long clashes.
 He said restrictions were imposed in parts of the city as protesters
indulged in ransacking public and private property. Asked whether the
restrictions would continue, he said, “Adequate security measure would
be in place to deal with the situation.”

MURDER CASE REGISTERED
 Ahfadul Mujtaba said that police has registered a murder case 54/2009
under section 302 in police station Rainawari under section 302 RPC.