GANDERBAL (Occupied Kashmir), Nov 23: Riot police beat back hundreds of anti-poll protesters in occupied Kashmir on Sunday as the region voted in the second stage of elections with thousands of troops surrounding the polling stations.

Srinagar and other major towns were meanwhile put under a curfew, police and witnesses said.

The latest stage of the vote comes amid heightened tensions, with two anti-election protesters shot dead by police on Saturday in the town of Baramulla.

Muslim politicians have called for a boycott of the seven-stage polls, arguing elections strengthen India’s occupation on the region.

Sunday’s turnout was however less than what was in the first round of voting last week in which, according to Indian officials’ claim, more than 60 per cent of the electorate cast their ballot.

Occupied Kashmir was put under federal rule in July following the collapse of the so-called state government over a land row that triggered a revival of anti-India demonstrations that left 50 Muslims dead in the ensuing Indian forces’ action.

Anti-India sentiment is running deep in the valley, where most people favour independence from India or a merger with Pakistan.

Voters at a polling booth in Ganderbal town, 25km northeast of Srinagar, said they wanted an end to the violence.

“Since July scores of Muslims have been mercilessly killed in firing incidents during peaceful demonstrations,” said Ghulam Qadir, 54.

“We will elect people who will not be cruel,” he said, as scores of young Kashmiris outside chanted slogans such as “no election, no selection; we want freedom.”

In the Kurhama village, police used batons to disperse hundreds of protesters who were chanting pro-freedom slogans.

The protesters tried to stop people from entering a voting station, prompting police action.

Anti-poll protests were also reported from other parts of Ganderbal, one of the two segments in the valley where voting was held on Sunday.

Despite the protests, many voters lined up to cast their ballot, an election department statement claimed.

In nearby Kangan township, more than 100 people could be seen queuing to cast their ballots under the guard of Indian troops with machine-guns.

Militants have for the first time in 20 years pledged non-violent elections, unlike the previous polls in 2002 when 850 people were killed in riots. Most of the victims were pro-India politicians and their supporters.

“I voted for peace and prosperity,” said housewife Saleema Begum, whose brother-in-law is one of the candidates.

SHAM POLL: “These are sham elections. How can you hold free and fair polls amid a curfew,” said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

He had called for pro-freedom protests on Sunday.

“India is holding these elections under occupation, detentions and crackdowns,” said the Mirwaiz, who has been under house arrest for 10 days.

“Whatever the turnout, no election under these conditions can be a legitimate exercise.”

Overnight, protesters threw rocks at a motorcade carrying a prominent pro-Indian politician, wounding three of her guards, police said.

Meanwhile, Indian police raided the offices of an English daily ‘Kashmir Newsline’.

The police launched a swift search operation taking away all the copies of the paper and CDs.

“It is shocking how the administration is discouraging fair journalism in Kashmir by suppressive tactics,” said the paper’s editor.

—Agencies