Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in several places in Srinagar on Thursday after Indian troops killed a young man, officials and residents said.
Residents in Srinagar said government forces shot and killed the young man during a raid early Thursday. The man worked as a shepherd and he was attending to his sheep when troops fired at him, they said.
Police have yet to make a statement.
The killing triggered protests and clashes as hundreds of people poured into streets at several places in downtown Srinagar calling for the end of Indian rule. They chanted slogans like “Go India, go back” and “We want freedom” as some of the residents barraged police and paramilitary soldiers with stones.
Government troops fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to quell the protests while authorities restricted movement in old quarters of the city.
Later thousands attended the man’s burial.
Most Kashmiris support the cause of unifying the divided region either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country, while participating in civilian street protests against Indian control. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.