Two young men were killed on Saturday when police and occupation paramilitary forces fired at a demonstration against holding elections in India's northern Jammu and Kashmir, news reports said. The incident took place in Baramullah town, about 55 kilometres north-west of occupied Srinagar, IANS news agency reported quoting police and witnesses.
A seven-phase election to the Jammu and Kashmir state legislative assembly began on Monday and the second phase is due to be held on Sunday. Constituencies in Baramullah are slated to vote December 7. India's Election Commission has staggered the elections to ensure that voters are provided maximum security. More than 47,000 people have died in a violent secessionist movement in the state since the mid-1980s.
Manzoor Ahmed Kumar, a senior school student, died after police guards of an election candidate fired at a stone-throwing mob in the Khanpora area of Baramullah, police said. Protesters carried the body of the youth and marched towards the curfew-bound old quarter of Baramullah shouting slogans opposing the elections and Indian rule over the area.
As tension rose, the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force opened fire on the funeral procession in an attempt to disperse the protestors, witnesses said. Two men were injured and one of them, Tanvir Ahmed Sheikh, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital, the police said. There was a turnout of about 64 percent in the first phase of voting, which covered 10 constituencies despite a boycott call by freedom fighter political parties.
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