SRINAGAR: The Indian army opened fire on a group of protesters outside a mosque on Friday, killing one youth and injuring an­­other in India-held Kash­mir, police and residents said.

The demonstrators had gathered in the town of Beerwah after senior Kash­miri leaders had called for a strike against Indian rule.

Soldiers opened fire after mistaking a firecracker for a grenade explosion, police claimed in a statement. “Someone among these miscreants [protesters]... hurled a firecracker towards the army men. Because of the bang the army men thought a grenade was hurled and they retaliated,” police said. Residents, however, said only a few rocks were thrown and none hit any soldier.

Authorities detain Yasin Malik for leading protest in Srinagar

Witnesses said the soldiers fired indiscriminately after some rocks hit the iron shutters of shops that were closed because of a general strike against Indian rule in the disputed region.

The martyred man, a tailor in his mid-20s, was hit by multiple bullets and died on the way to a hospital. The injured man was reported to be in stable condition.

The killing triggered anger and widespread protests in the town. Police fired tear gas, fearing the funeral procession would turn into a big demonstration in the area, as thousands carried the man’s body to a graveyard for burial while shouting slogans against Indian rule.

Some of them threw rocks at police, who fired shotgun pellets to quell the protest. No one was reported injured.

Meanwhile, authorities have imposed a curfew in parts of Srinagar where leaders opposed to Indian rule over the Himalayan region had called for a march to the office of a UN military observer group in protest against recent civilian killings and arrest of dozens of political activists.

Armed police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear patrolled streets and blocked roads with razor wire and steel barricades.

Later on Friday, scores of people led by Mohammed Yasin Malik defied the security lockdown and tried to hold a protest march in the city. However, police detained Mr Malik and several other activists.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2017