Brutal Indian crackdown claims four Kashmiri lives

SRINAGAR: Bloodshed continued unabated in Indian-occupied Kashmir as Indian troops killed four Kashmiri youths in brutal operations in the Shopian and Pulwama districts on Tuesday while the offices of a prominent English language daily were sealed in what was termed a “vendetta” by the owner.

According to the Kashmir Media Service, two youths were killed in an overnight military operation in the Melhora area of Shopian, while another two were killed in the Kakripora locality of Pulwama.

On the other hand, two Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured in an attack on the Srinagar-Shopian road in Pulwama, a police official told reporters. The development came amid ongoing operations in different localities of Srinagar, Kupwara, Bandipore, Baramulla, Budgam, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Islamabad, Shopian, Kulgam, Ramban, Udhampuure, Doda, Kishtwar, Rajouri, Poonch, Samba and Kathua districts. Meanwhile, occupation authorities sealed the office of a prominent daily English newspaper in Srinagar. The Delhi-run Estates Department sealed the offices the ‘Kashmir Times’ at the Press Enclave in the city, officials said. They, however, gave no reasons for the action.

Headquartered in Jammu, the English daily is published from both the regions of the territory. The newspaper owners said that no notice was served on them and “nothing in writing” was given to them.

“Our office in Srinagar was locked without any due process of law. No notice — whether of cancellation or eviction — was served to us,” Kashmir Times owner Anuradha Bhasin told reporters.

Bhasin termed the move a “vendetta” against her for speaking out against the Modi-led government and moving the Indian Supreme Court against media restrictions in the disputed territory after Article 370 was abrogated in August last year. “The day I went to court last year, that very day, the government advertisements to Kashmir Times were stopped,” she added.