Srinagar, July 9: Barely an hour after the curfew was relaxed in the summer capital, protests erupted in old city on Friday evening.
Witnesses said three youth were injured, one of them critically, in the CRPF firing at Khawaja Bazar near Nowhata.
They said people, mainly young boys, spilled out onto the roads after CRPF deployment was being withdrawn from the area.
They said the CRPF troopers opened fire on protesters injuring three of them. They were rushed to SKIMS. One of the injured Anees Ahmad of Khawaja Bazar was critically injured in the firing, witnesses added.
"Only one person was injured in the firing and he is stable," a senior police official said.
He denied that curfew had been re-imposed in the old city after the incident.
Earlier the Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said that curfew had been lifted from the Kashmir Valley from Friday evening onwards.
“Curfew has been relaxed in wake of a festival at Hazratbal Shrine. Relaxation will continue till Saturday evening,” Pillai told state-run Doordarshan Kendra.
Uneasy Calm
Srinagar witnessed another day of uneasy calm enforced by the ongoing spell of the strictest curfew. No congregational prayers were held on Friday at the historic Jamia Masjid for the second consecutive week.
Fearing protests after Friday prayers, government didn’t provide any relaxation in the curfew anywhere in the city during the day. However, protests broke out at Dalgate in the morning as people took to streets and staged a pro-freedom demonstration.
Police swung into action and dispersed protesters by caning and lobbing teargas shells. Five persons were injured in the police action. Witnesses said police and CRPF men also beat up many vegetable vendors and hawkers who were out in the market.
No Prayers offered at Jamia Masjid
Owing to the curfew, congregational Friday prayers could not be held in many Masjids, especially those located along main roads in the old city.
For the second consecutive week, no Friday prayers were offered at Jamia Masjid today. The Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Miwaiz Umar Farooq, who is also the chief cleric of Jamia Masjid was put under house arrest at his Nigeen residence.
At Hazaratbal, congregational prayers of a very modest gathering were held. Police and CRPF didn’t allow a large number of people to go towards the shrine.
However, after as the prayers concluded, people could manage to reach the shrine started raising pro-freedom slogans, which prompted the shrine management to switch off all the microphones, annoying the protesters.
When the protesters moved out of the shrine, police and paramilitary CRPF troopers chased them away.
Locals said the troopers broke the windowpanes of several houses.
The protesters were demanding end to what they called “reign of terror unleashes in Kashmir. “We want end to this bloodshed,” they shouted.
It is unfortunate that government has imposed curbs on devotees visiting the shrine. It amounts to interference in our religious affairs which is highly condemnable."
Reports said police picked up some youth on charges of raising pro-freedom slogans. Pertinently, it is after several years that the pro-freedom slogans were heard from inside the Hazratbal shrine, which is run by the state administration under the aegis of Muslim Waqf Board.
Elsewhere across the city people remained restricted to their homes in view of the curfew.
Pertinently, the summer capital, mainly the volatile areas of the old city under the seven police stations, has been under curfew since June 24 with only a day of normalcy on July 4. Since then the restrictions have only grown severe.
People are facing acute shortage of essentials mainly milk and grocery items.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 9 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 9 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST