By Mir Umar,Agence India Press,
Srinagar: After a day’s break, restrictions were today imposed on the movement of people in parts of Srinagar and Baramulla districts after protests over the recovery of the body of a missing youth and alleged custodial death of a militant even as the Hurriyat (G) again enforced a shutdown disrupting life.
Thousands of police and paramilitary forces on patrol have asked residents to stay indoors in major towns to prevent street protests.
Hurriyat group led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a complete shutdown across the Kashmir Valley on Monday to protest human rights violations by the security forces. The group came out with its fifth protest calendar on Saturday night.
Normalcy had returned to the Valley last day but the relief was short-lived as protests erupted in Batmaloo in Srinagar and Rafiabad of Baramulla district following recovery of body of a missing youth of the area and alleged custodial death of a suspected militant in Rafiabad.
Locals in Batmaloo had staged protests last evening following recovery of body of Farooq Ahmad Bhat from a stream. Bhat had gone missing after offering morning prayers in a local mosque four days back.
Police said the youth had drowned and his body was fished out from the stream. However, locals alleged that Bhat was picked up by security forces and tortured to death and thrown into the stream.
Police denied these allegations and said it was investigating the case.
An official source told Agence India Press that; restrictions on the movement of people have been imposed in most parts of old city, besides Maisuma, Kralkhud, Parimpora and Batmaloo in uptown Srinagar as a precautionary measure.
Shops, educational institutions, business establishments and post offices here were closed while public transport went off roads, private transport plied on some roads.
However, fresh protests erupt at Rambagh in Srinagar, while as stone pelting took worst face at the area. There was no report of any damage or injury when this repot was submitted.
In the North, Rafiabad area another youth died in Police custody. Tariq Ahmad, who was arrested July 18, had been tortured to death as per the family. The youth, who was arrested for firing at a civilian in his Fidarpora village, had committed suicide inside the Panzala police station on Sunday, police claimed. Police had claimed, he was a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative.
Meanwhile, police on Monday seized the copies of Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Uzma on Srinagar-Baramulla highway.
Policemen intercepted the vehicle carrying the newspapers near Mirgund and asked the driver to get down. “Without assigning any reasons policemen started beating the driver and threw all the newspaper copies on the road,” GK news website quoted as witnesses said.
Following the police assault not a single copy of GK and Uzma could be sent to any of the north Kashmir districts and towns, GK website said.