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Death of two women sparks violent protests in Kashmir

By IANS,

Srinagar : At least 50 people, including 10 policemen, were injured in violent protests in Shopian town of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday after the death of two young women under mysterious circumstances.

A senior police officer said bodies of Neelofar, 25 and Asiya Jan, 18, were recovered from a field near a stream in village Nagbal near Shopian, 58 km from here, Saturday morning.

The recovery of the bodies led to massive protests in the town with mobs indulging in heavy stone pelting at the office of the district magistrate and the local police station.

The villagers alleged that the two women were raped and killed by the security personnel, a charge vehemently denied by the police.

A violent mob also attacked the sub-district hospital where the bodies of the two women were taken for autopsy.

Police fired warning shots and resorted to repeated baton charges and tear smoke shelling.

As the mob violence spread, the administration moved police and paramilitary reinforcements to the town and imposed curfew like restrictions to restore law and order.

“The autopsy report is still awaited,” said a senior police officer.

The officer said that in all 50 people, including 10 policemen, were wounded in the day-long violence.

The bodies of the two women were handed over to their relatives by the police for burial in the evening.