A 17-year-old civilian was shot dead by Indian forces on Saturday in the Batamaloo area of Srinagar, the capital of the disputed Kashmir region, according to local sources.
Although Indian police said they were investigating the death, residents said a party of Indian forces shot Sajad Hussain Sheikh in the head after their vehicles were stoned, Anadolu News reported.
In a statement, Indian police said they were “collecting the details and are looking into the circumstances under which a person, identified as Sajad Hussain Sheikh, got killed”.
However, the statement added that the District Police administration in Srinagar said there had been no deployment in the area.
As the news of the death spread, tension and anger rose further in Srinagar, a city already simmering with fury over the killing of eight civilians by the Indian armed forces last Sunday and by videos of killings and beatings endured by Kashmiri civilians, which have surfaced since then.
Earlier in the day, Indian forces entered the degree college in south Kashmir’s Pulwama town and beat up scores of students; videos of the assaults taken by fellow students on camera phones have gone viral. According to the student union, at least 50 people were injured.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.
The two countries have fought three wars—in 1948, 1965 and 1971—since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.
Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.
