Indian troops martyr two youth in Held Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Suspected rebels shot dead four police officers while security forces killed two militants in Indian-Held Kashmir (IHK) on Wednesday as tensions mounted before a major Supreme Court hearing on the troubled region.

Five police officers, who had stopped near the southern IHK town of Shopian to repair their vehicle, were ambushed, Inspector General of Police Swayam Prakash Pani said.

“Four of the police were killed. One who was inside the vehicle at the time of the attack is safe,” Pani said.

Separately, two suspected rebels were killed in a gunfight with government forces not far from the attack on the police, officials said.

The troops killed the youth identified as Altaf Kachroo and Omar Rasheed during a cordon and search operation at Munward area of the district. The troops also blasted a house in the area.

The Indian authorities claimed that the martyred youth were top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen. The authorities blocked mobile internet services in this south Kashmir district. The train service between Srinagar and Banihal has also been suspended.

The killing led to clashes between protesters and the Indian troops in the area. Youth took to streets soon after the troops launched the cordon and search operation in the village located near Khanabal area of the district.

The troops fired teargas shells to disperse the protesters who pelted them with stones.

Meanwhile, India‘s National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested serving deputy jail superintendent Feroze Ahmad Lone currently posted as Deputy Jail Superintendent Amphalla prison Jammu along with one Ishaq Palla on the charge of being lenient to Kashmiri detainees and supporting the ongoing freedom struggle.

The NIA said Ishaq Palla has been remanded to 10-day custody by the Special NIA court Jammu. Feroze Ahmad Lone will be produced before the court for seeking his custody.

The separatist groups have called a general strike for Thursday and Friday before the Supreme Court hearing, which they feared could allow Indians from outside Kashmir to buy property in the state and get government jobs.

The court will hear arguments on Friday on a legal challenge against a 1954 constitutional provision, Article 35A, that reserved the special privileges for Kashmir permanent residents.

Separatist groups seeking Kashmir´s independence or merger with Pakistan, along with business and civil society groups have opposed scrapping Article 35A.

Incorrect rumours this week that the article had been scrapped caused protests and clashes in Kashmir.

The ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to annul the constitutional provisions that grant special status to Kashmir.

A BJP spokesman this week said Article 35A had become an obstacle to outside investment in the region.