Indian forces shoot schoolgirl on her way home

Police fires at protesters, school girl wounded

Greater Kashmir Sept 15

People catch 6 Ikhwanis beating people during night, hand them over to police which releases them swiftly; people hold demo, attack police station

KHALID GUL


Shergund, Utersoo (Islamabad), Sep 14: A 14 year old girl sustained critical bullet injuries when police opened fire to disperse the protesters in this small hamlet in south Kashmir on Sunday. The victim was returning home from school.
The protesters were demanding action against six government gunmen (Ikhwanis) who had entered several houses during Sehri (the pre-dawn period during which people eat food during the fasting month of Ramazan) hours and thrashed the inmates.
According to the locals, “Six gunmen in civvies working for the Army’s 7 Rashtriya Rifles battalion entered our homes during Sehri They ransacked household goods; beat us up, our women and children without any reason,” said Abdul Gani Malik who suffered an eye injury.
Malik raised an alarm and hundreds of villagers came out of their houses and caught all the gunmen and handed them over to the police at Police Division, Utersoo. But after learning that all of them were immediately released by the police, the villagers demonstrated in front of the police station and demanded punishment to the accused government gunmen.
The villagers alleged that Station House Officer of Achabal police station along with a team of policemen, arrived on the spot and without any provocation resorted to baton charge and then fired several rounds, first in the air and then at the protesters, injuring a 14 year old girl, Masarat Akhtar daughter of Ghulam Rasool Sheikh. Masarat was returning home from school. She received a bullet in her abdomen and is battling for life in SMHS, hospital, Srinagar.
Several other villagers were injured today when police resorted to baton charge.
“We asked the SHO why the gunmen who unnecessarily harassed us were released, but he told us ‘he would teach us a lesson’ and kill all of us,” said an eye witness, pleading anonymity.
As soon as the news spread the area hundreds of people from Shangus , Utersoo and adjoining areas came out of their houses and shouted slogans against police and Army. The protesters also pelted stones on Police Division, Utersoo damaging its window panes.
“The Commanding Officer of the 7 RR told me that four soldiers wearing pherans had raided a house after receiving information that a militant was hiding in the house. But they didn’t find any militant there, and beat up the house owner who raised alarm in response to which villagers came out and caught the soldiers. The people handed over the soldiers to police division. But today they tried to set ablaze the police station. A constable opened fire which rebounded from some structure and hit the school girl indirectly. Still we will hold a proper inquiry,” Me’raj-ud-din Shah, the deputy superintendent of police headquarters told Greater Kashmir by phone.



Hurriyat leader, many youth held
Police and paramilitary troopers arrested the Hurriyat leader Hamid-Ullah Bawani and dozen of youth along with him in Dooru, Islamabad in south Kashmir for participating in pro-freedom marches and processions.
After their arrest, people took to the roads and protested against the police and CRPF troopers and demanded release of the detained youth.