Kashmir stays shut; Mirwaiz detained

SRINAGAR: Normal life in Kashmir remained disrupted on Wednesday with most shops, business establishments and fuel stations shut, while public transport was off the roads in response to a shutdown call by the separatists.

The joint separatist leadership had called for a shutdown against the shifting of political prisoners from Srinagar jails to Jammu and a protest march to Shopian to pay homage to the militants and civilians killed there in a shootout with forces on Sunday.

The march to Shopian was foiled even as restrictions were imposed in several places across the Valley. Hardline Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Geelani and moderate Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were detained after they tried to lead marches from their homes in Srinagar to Shopian, more than 50 km away.

Wednesday’s shutdown also makes it the third straight day that Shopian and adjoining areas in south Kashmir remained closed against the killings. Four youths and two militants were found dead after a shootout involving army at Pahnoo Shopian on Sunday evening. Two of the bodies -- one of a youth and the other of a militant -- were found near the site of shooting on Monday morning.

Local train services in the Valley remain suspended although private vehicles plied in some parts of the region.

SOLDIER SHOOTS SELF IN NORTH KASHMIR: COPS

A soldier committed suicide in north Kashmir on Wednesday, police said. The armyman belonging to 30 Rashtriya Rifles shot himself with his service rifle in the Langate camp in Handwara area of Kupwara district, said a police official.

Sepoy Birender Sinha, who was posted at the 30 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Langate in Kupwara district, shot himself around 6.45 am, a police official said.

It wasn’t immediately clear why the soldier shot himself. Army spokesman Rajesh Kalia did not respond to calls from HT.

The number of fratricides and suicides among armed forces in the state has shown a decline over the recent years as the level of militant violence has relatively reduced as compared to 1990s and early 2000.

The downward trend could also be owing to various measures taken by the authorities like liberal leave policy, roping in of psychologists and yoga classes.

Six armymen had committed suicide in the state in 2017, according to human rights organisation JK Coalition of Civil Society.