Violent protests shake Indian Kashmir

Sunday, April 25, 2010
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - – Violent protests erupted in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir on Saturday, after soldiers killed an alleged timber smuggler, mistaking him for a militant, police said.
Four people were wounded when troops opened fire to quell around 4,000 protesters who surged into the street after the man's death, torching two army vehicles and pelting soldiers with rocks, a police officer said.
"The four injured people suffered bullet wounds and have been taken to hospital," the officer said, asking not to be identified.
The protests in which demonstrators shouted "We want freedom" and "Punish the killers" erupted in Chawan village in southern Shopian district of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.
Police said the man was killed early Saturday when he walked into an ambush laid by the army for Islamic militants fighting Indian rule. Another alleged timber smuggler was wounded.
Senior police officials rushed to the spot in a bid to ease tensions.
"A high level inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident," an army statement said.
Last week, the body of another man killed by troops was exhumed after his family insisted he was an innocent civilian and not a militant as initially claimed by the army.
After the exhumation, the army issued a statement saying militants had been using the man as either a guide or as a human shield.
The scenic territory, where rebels have been fighting New Delhi's rule for two decades, has lately been hit by a new wave of protests.
On Friday, 10 people were hurt after police fired tear gas at hundreds of people protesting death sentences given to three militants over a 1996 bomb attack on a New Delhi market that killed 13 people and injured dozens.
More protests over the death sentences took place in Srinagar on Saturday with police and protesters fighting running street battles, police said.
Human rights groups accuse both the militants and the security forces of human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, suspected militants shot dead a cable TV operator in northern Sopore town late Friday, police said.
Militants have announced bans on cable channels several times since 2000.
But the channels have always returned to the airwaves after operators pledged they would not show "obscenity" -- deemed to be scenes of kissing and fondling and women wearing low-cut dresses or short skirts.
Indian troops also shot dead two militants in Doda district, about 170 kilometres (105 miles) south of Srinagar late Friday, police said.
More than 47,000 people have died in the separatist insurgency, according to official figures.