Srinagar, July 30: Five persons were injured, one of them grievously, in the uptown Chanapora locality here on Friday even as the entire summer capital was closed down by authorities as they imposed curfew-like restrictions. Friday prayers weren’t allowed at Jamia Masjid in downtown for the fifth consecutive week.
Witnesses said police and CRPF troopers opened fire on protesters at Chanapora after they staged demonstrations in the morning alleging highhandedness of forces. Five persons were injured in the firing. One of the injured, Muhammad Iqbal Khan of Chanapora, was injured critically as a bullet hit his face.
He was admitted at the SKIMS, Soura where doctors termed his conditional as critical and said he was put on a ventilator.
“He had been hit on head by some high velocity projectile. He is unstable and critical,” a doctor at SKIMS told Greater Kashmir.
After the incident, protests spilled to Natipora, Rambagh, Barzulla and Hyderpora neighbourhoods where protesters rained stones on police and CRPF men who responded by lobbing tear smoke and firing live ammunition in air. Many women came out of their homes and joined protest demonstrations. Nearly a dozen persons were injured in the clashes. Witnesses said that forces beat up many pedestrians in the Barzulla locality.
The summer capital, mainly the downtown Srinagar remained locked down during the day. Additional parties of Police and CRPF deployed heavily imposed curfew-like restrictions and had blocked roads and streets by barricades and razor wires. The restrictions were intensified in the entire city after the Chanapora incident.
Authorities didn’t allow congregational prayers for the fifth Friday at Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta while the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq continued to under house arrest at his Nigeen residence.
The Maisuma and Gowkadal localities were sealed by government forces to foil the march to Maisuma called by Hurriyat Conference faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Protest demonstrations also broke out in city outskirts at Machoo, Bagh-e-Mehtab and Chadoora town.
After Friday prayers, locals took out a protest procession from Jamia Masjid, Yarikalan near Chadoora. The protesters raised pro-freedom and anti-India slogans and later dispersed peacefully.
Later in the evening, locals said CRPF troopers led by local policemen ventured into residential areas of Yarikalan, Rapora and Nemtehal and smashed window panes of houses. They also beat up civilians including women.
Later in the evening protests broke out in Magarmal Bagh, Dandarkha, Nawa Kadal, Aalikadal and Sonawar localities of the city.
Locals said that CRPF and police ranked many residential houses and vehicles parked on roadsides.
At Nawa Kadal, locals rescued two youth from river Jhelum after they jumped into it to save themselves from the police and CRPF who were chasing them.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST