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Five Civilians Among Nine Killed in "Random" Shoot-Out in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Kashmir, Dec. 8 (News Agencies) - Five civilians were among nine people killed Saturday when Indian troops opened fire during a shoot-out with Muslim activists in a bustling northern Kashmir town, witnesses said.
The Indian security forces were accused of causing civilian casualties by firing "shots at random."
An Indian police spokesman said the gun battle was sparked when separatist Muslim fighters attacked an army convoy.
Two Indian soldiers and two Muslim activists were also killed in the shoot-out, the spokesman said. More than 20 civilians wounded in the exchange were taken to nearby hospitals, where four were in a critical condition.
The fighting broke out when the activists opened fire and lobbed grenades at the security forces in the town of Baramulla, 34 miles north of Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar.
Many of the residents blamed the Indian army for the high civilian casualties, saying they fired shots in all directions after coming under attack.
"The 50-vehicle convoy then start driving out of Baramulla and en route the soldiers fired randomly at buses and civilians," one resident said, adding that a policeman and four non-combatants were mowed down in the alleged random attack.
"They fired shots at random," alleged another resident, Abdul Samad, from Azad Ganj, the site of initial attack.
An army spokesman in Srinagar denied the allegation, saying an army convoy was attacked by the Muslims, killing a soldier and injuring seven others.
"The troops fire back and in the ensuing encounter, civilian and militant casualties occurred," he said.
"Militant" is the word used by the Indian army to refer to Muslim separatist activists fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir.
Seven troops were also injured in the attack. They were shifted to Baramulla's army hospital
A police spokesman said the fighting had sparked panic and everyone nearby had taken cover, adding that the gunfight had now ended.
A patrol party of India's Border Security Force (BSF), which was on the move in the area, had also fired back at the activists, police said.
The entire area had been sealed off by the army, paramilitary and counter-insurgency police to prevent anyone from escaping, police said.
City administrators and police officials who went to a hospital to meet with the injured came under attack as enraged residents hurled rocks and other missiles at the visitors.
Policemen accompanying the Baramullah officials opened fire with rifles to quell the protest near the town's main hospital, witnesses said.
"The situation is tense in the town," a police spokesman said.
Relatives of the wounded people have started thronging the hospitals amid the beefed-up police security. Indian forces have bolstered security in the town to prevent Muslims from taking to streets.
"Funerals are scheduled to take place in the evening," a police spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Indian troops seized a 150-kilogram (330-pound) cache of explosives in Kashmir Saturday and said a suspect held in connection with the haul could face the death penalty under India's tough new "anti-terrorist law".
The haul occurred at an activist hideout near the town of Sopore, 31 miles north of Srinagar, police said, adding that the explosives were meant to be used against Indian military targets in Kashmir.
Known as RDX, the explosive is a favorite among Kashmir's two-dozen anti-occupation Islamic separatist organizations.
The police said the suspect arrested with the cache has been charged under the country's controversial new anti-terror law, which allows execution as a punishment for people caught with contraband explosives.
The Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, which was ordered last month by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's cabinet, is yet to be passed by parliament and faces widespread criticism from most national opposition political parties, as well as human rights groups.
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