Student’s death triggers new protests in IHK

Police say boy was already dead when they found him



SRINAGAR: Indian police fired in the air and lobbed teargas at mobs on Wednesday to disperse demonstrators protesting a student's death in Indian-held Kashmir's (IHK) main city, Reuters reported.




There were no immediate reports of any casualties among the protesters, AP reported. Angry residents burned tyres, threw stones, set a police vehicle on fire and forced businesses in Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar, to close. The protesters accused police of killing 20-year-old Asrar Ahmed after his arrest.




Already dead: Police denied the charge and said the boy was already dead when they found him near a graveyard in Srinagar on Wednesday. They said the boy had gone missing last week. Ahmed's family identified him by the clothes on his body, his father Mushtaq Ahmed told AP. He gave no other details.




Senior Superintendent of Police Afadul Mujatada said Ahmed's body had multiple injuries on the head. He said police were investigating the calls registered on his mobile phone. Residents alleged that he had been taken into custody by security forces illegally. Mujatada denied the boy had been in police custody, adding that the body had been handed over to the family for the funeral. AP reported that thousands of people participated in the protests, which largely took place in the downtown areas of Maisuma and Lal Chowk. About 3,000 students also demonstrated inside a local university, clashing with police who fired teargas. Several smaller protests took place in other parts of the city. agencies