Centre to probe whose bullet killed Hurriyat leader Sheikh Aziz

New Delhi, Aug 25 (UNI) The Centre today said that situation in Kashmir valley remained more or less peaceful except a few violations of curfew imposed in view of the call for 'Lal Chowk March' and hoped that an amicable solution to the Amarnath land row acceptable to all the stakeholders could be found on the basis of the ongoing dialogue.

Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said here that the talks for resolution of the Amarnath land row were going forward in the positive direction but said that he could not give details till a consensus decision was reached by the various sections.

He said that at two places, firing from the crowd were reported including Hazan in Bandipora in which two policemen and two CRPF personnel were injured, while in Bwerwah, attempt was made to attack security forces in which a woman died. Though the woman was not at the place of the firing, she was hit by a bullet of the miscreants, he said. At the scene of the attack an empty shell of AK 47 had been found indicating the handiwork of militants.

Pointing out the similarity between the killing of this woman and that of Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz who died during the earlier March to Muzaffarabad, the Home Secretary said the matter was being investigated. Earlier, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan had said that the Hurriyat leader had died due to firing from the crowd and not from bullets fired by security forces.

Mr Gupta said such incidents indicated that though the separatists were trying to project that the protests were ''spontaneous'', it was evident that militants were trying to use the situation to their advantage.

He said the state government after assessing the ground situation had decided not to allow the ''Lal Chowk March'' and had imposed curfew at many places and apprehended many Hurriyat leaders.

Confrontations with police were reported from many places in which a couple of casualities took place but by and large, the situation remained peaceful at many places.

Srinagar situation remained peaceful apart from the curfew breaking at me places but the police and CRPF controlled and dispersed the croweds.

The Director General of Police has informed that the situation appeared to remain calm.

The National Highway remained open and the movement of trucks was on apart from a minor impact due to curfew in Srinagar.

Earlier, the report from Kashmir indicated that Chairmen of both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC) and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yaseen Malik were among more than 100 separatist leaders and workers arrested in the Kashmir valley overnight.

UNI AJ PK KP2009