SRINAGAR, Sept 11: Twenty people were hurt on Tuesday when thousands of Kashmiri protesters clashed with Indian police over the killing of an alleged militant who they say was just a college student, witnesses said.

Police said 20-year-old Mohammed Ramzan Shah died during a gunfight on Monday in the Kupwara district. The fighting also left an alleged Pakistani militant dead and a soldier wounded.

Shah’s relatives, however, say he was a college student and not remotely connected to the freedom struggle against Indian occupation. They claim he was arrested and then killed.

“He was arrested by the army on Sunday when he was on his way to attend a function at his aunt’s place,” Shah’s brother, Khurshid Ahmed, told reporters in the town of Dangiwacha, the scene of the protests.

Braving heavy rain, thousands of residents in Dangiwacha and nearby Rafiabad took to the streets chanting, “We want freedom” and “Punish the killers,” witnesses said.

Protesters hurled stones at police who tried to prevent them from marching to a key highway in the area, they said.

A police officer who asked not to be named said 15 civilians and five policemen were hurt in the melee.

TRUCE CALL: Kashmiri politicians called upon New Delhi to declare a ceasefire in the violence-hit territory for the holy month of Ramazan, and said they hoped militants would match the move.

“All Kashmiris would welcome a ceasefire by Indian troops and militants to mark the holy month,” Maulana Abbas Ansari, a leading cleric and a moderate separatist said.—AFP