By Agence India Press,
Srinagar: Police fired warning shots and burst tear smoke shells to disperse stone-pelting mob protesting the arrest of youths in Batmaloo area of central Srinagar today.
People took to streets in interior Batmaloo, including Bazaar Batmaloo, Ziyarat, Diyarwani and Bazar Mohalla, and indulged in stone-pelting this afternoon to protest the arrest of four youths in connection with violent demonstration in the area yesterday.
Police initially used batons and fired tear smoke shells to restore law and order but as the action proved ineffective, several warning shots were fired to restrict the protestors who were attempting to reach the main road.
Four persons received minor injuries during the clashes which forced local shopkeepers to pull down shutters of their shops for precautions, officials said, adding three photographers working with different newspapers were allegedly roughed up by CRPF troops while they were covering the incident.
Batmaloo along with over a dozen places in Srinagar witnessed intense clashes between police and protestors during the general strike sponsored by Majlis-e-Mushawarat Shopian and supported by all separatists against the CBI report in the death of two women in Shopian on May 30.
Three residential-cum-commercial buildings were gutted in a devastating fire at Bohrikadal, allegedly sparked off by tear smoke shelling during a clash between youths and police in the area yesterday.