As the Kashmir Valley witnessed public fury and mob attacks on police stations and camps, especially that of the counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG), besides a railway station and some government buildings for the second straight day on Saturday, two more protesters were killed in police firing incidents, raising the toll to six.
About 200 people have been wounded in police and CRPF firings and beatings over the past two days whereas dozens of security force personnel have also been injured in rock-throwing incidents and attacks by angry mobs.
Overcrowded Srinagar hospitals are trying to cope with the situation. Meanwhile, chief minister Omar Abdullah has instructed the police to put on alert members of its non-combatant wings, such as CID, vigilance, crime branch and the traffic police, who may be required for law and order maintenance, official sources said.
Huge crowds chanting pro-freedom slogans defied curfew at several places in Baramulla, Bandipore, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pulw-ama and Anantnag districts and clashed with police and CRPF personnel, reports said. Almost all Valley towns were placed under indefinite curfew from midnight Friday “to maintain peace and tranquillity and protect life and property in view of the prevailing law and order situation”.
Protesters torched Amarg-arh railway station in of Sopore town and two Tata Sumo vehicles parked there, an SOG camp at neighbouring Kreeri, two IAF vehicles and one of the SOG at Pampore, outside Srinagar.