Students clash with police in Indian Kashmir protests
Hundreds of students clashed with government forces in Indian Kashmir during protests Monday against a police raid on a college, as tensions ran high in the restive region.
Around 100 students were injured as police used batons and tear gas to try to quell the protests, which broke out in the main city of Srinagar before spreading to other parts of the Kashmir valley.
Teenagers in school uniform and women students wearing white headscarves were among the protesters, who chanted antiIndia slogans and threw stones at government forces.
A student union had called for protests after police on Saturday tried to raid a college in the southern district of Pulwama to round up suspects in recent violent demonstrations, sparking clashes in which at least 60 students were injured.
“Students are protesting in a few colleges. We are dealing with a situation,” a senior police office told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Indian-administered Kashmir has been tense since April 9, when eight people were killed by police and paramilitary troops during election day violence.
On Saturday a street vendor was shot dead by India’s Border Security Force and on Sunday three people were killed by suspected rebels, one a former counter-insurgent.
Footage apparently showing a civilian tied to the front of an army jeep to deter protesters from throwing stones at the vehicle has also caused outrage after it was circulated on social media last week.
The army has launched an investigation into the incident and police have registered a case although no arrests have yet been made.