Kashmir protests over Indian army killing

Thousands of villagers set fire to government vehicles in noisy demonstrations in northern Kashmir over the killing of a Muslim schoolteacher by Indian troops, officials said yesterday.
Residents accused Indian troops of killing Abdul Rashid Mir in cold blood during frisking of civilians near a forest on Friday.
The army has expressed its regret over the death and ordered an enquiry into what it called an "unfortunate incident."
An army statement, however, insisted Mir was killed accidentally after refusing to cooperate with a security check.
"Instead of showing his identity papers the individual got into an argument with the soldier. In this confusion the weapon got accidentally discharged, which caused unfortunate fatal injuries," it said.
Police and residents said thousands of villagers have been holding noisy demonstrations against the army on Friday and Saturday.
"They have kept the body on a stretcher and refuse to bury the dead until a murder case is registered against the accused," a police officer said, adding more and more villagers were joining in the protests.
He said the angry villagers set fire to two government vehicles and forced a shutdown in one area, adding police used batons and tear gas to attempt to disperse the crowd early Saturday but that failed.