#Handwara/#Kashmir: Protests erupted in parts of Kashmir Valley after 4 were killed in firing at HandwaraThe army says it does not know who filmed the video in which the girl alleges harassment by a boy but does not talk about molestation by any soldier.
In the statement recorded on a mobile phone, the girl says that a boy grabbed her bag, pulled her and abused her when she went to the washroom after school.
“He asked, am I not interested in Kashmiris? Another man asked where did I go with the boy and slapped me,” the girl says in Kashmiri.
As allegations that the girl had been molested by an army man circulated, protests broke out in Handwara, around 70 km from Srinagar.
The police say security forces opened fire when some 500 protesters surrounded the main army post, started throwing stones and tried to burn it.
Nayeem Bhatt, a promising cricketer who had participated in under-19 camps, 70-year-old Raja Begum and Mohammad Iqbal, 21, were killed.
The army has regretted the firing but cites the video as proof that there was an “intention to malign” the force. The video shows there was “no molestation”, defence ministry spokesperson Lt Colonel NN Joshi said.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who is in Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers, said: “Such tragic incidents have a huge negative impact on the efforts of the government and political leadership in bringing peace to state.”
There is a curfew in Handwara today; mostly securitymen are seen on the roads and the army has vacated worst-hit parts of the town including the post that was attacked.
After the deaths the protests spread to other parts of the Kashmir Valley. Movement has also been restricted in parts of Srinagar today.
Bureau Report
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