Pulwama, Sep 4: Residents of Gangoo village in this south Kashmir district on Sunday staged a protest against the mysterious death of a youth.
 Locals said that Rafiq Hussain Nengroo, 22, son of Ghulam Muhammad was allegedly beaten to death by unidentified uniformed men. 
 A youth, who claimed to be an eyewitness, told reporters that he along with his friends was present near a provisional store at Gangoo village at about 9.45 pm on Saturday. “A few uniformed men carrying lathis appeared on the spot and started to chase us. We ran away, but Rafiq fell on the road" the youth said, adding that uniformed men escaped under the cover of darkness.
 Locals said after the incident they rushed Rafiq to district hospital Pulwama where doctors declared him brought dead.  
 The autopsy of Rafiq's body was conducted in presence of Tehsildar Pulwama Ali Muhammad Najar and it was later handed over to his heirs. 
 As the word about Rafiq’s death spread in the area, people took to the streets and staged a protest demanding a high level probe into the killing. Following protests top police officials rushed to the spot and assured that matter would be looked into. President of the Itehadul-Muslimeen Masroor Abbas Ansari and veteran religious scholar Aga Syed Sakhawat Hussain participated in the funeral prayers of the deceased. Ansari demanded an impartial probe into Rafiq’s killing.
 Meanwhile, doctors at district hospital Pulwama said the body of youth bore no visible marks of injury. Police said they are gathering facts.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 4 Sep 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 4 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 5 Sep 2011 00:00:00 IST