Massive clashes broke out between young men and the government forces in Nawabazar area of downtown Srinagar on Thursday evening.
Restrictions in the area were imposed following the death of Kashmir’s most prominent resistance leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Several youth were seen on one end of the road while the government forces were infront clashing with them. Eyewitnesses said that several tear gas shells were fired during the clashes.
However, the police in a statement said that “the situation across the valley remained peaceful and no any untoward incident was reported.”
Geelani passed away last night at 10:30 pm following a prolonged illness at his home, where he was kept under house detention for most of the last decade. He was 91.
The state officials then imposed a curfew across Kashmir and snapped nearly all lines of communications, except the fluctuating government-owned BSNL networks.
An eyewitness told The Kashmir Walla that roads were blocked while the intense tear gas shelling took place in Nawabazar as nearly 300 people gathered and started throwing stones at the government forces. “They [forces] blocked roads and fired tear gas shell at the crowd,” he said.
Millions of the residents of Kashmir Valley were confined to their houses as the strict curfew was imposed by the government forces amidst a near communication blackout after Geelani’s death. The streets in Srinagar city were blocked with concertina wires and barricades while there was a heavy deployment of the government forces.
Reportedly, Geelani’s body was taken into custody nearly at 3:30 am and was rushed for burial near his home in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area.
