Violent protests resume in Kashmir over death order to Guru

Srinagar, Oct 1 (UNI) Violent protests over a Delhi court order to hang till death Mohammad Afzal Guru in Tihar jail on October 20 resumed in many parts of Kashmir today.

No protests were reported from anywhere in the Valley yesterday.

Protestors, carrying placards and banners, gathered at Batamaloo and Maisuma near the headquarters of the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in the heart of the city this morning and started pelting stones on police personnel.

Police resorted to baton-charge and fired teargas shells to disperse the violent mob.

Violent protests had rocked the entire Kashmir valley for three consecutive days from September 27. At least 200 protestors, including women, and activists of several separatist organisations had been taken into custody by police from different parts of the Valley during the past few days.

About 150 protestors, including women, police personnel and some mediapersons were wounded during the three days of stone-pelting and teargasing. As many as six photo-journalists, including Tribune's Amin War and Sajjad Hussain of the AFP, were wounded in clashes between police and protestors across the city on Friday.

Prayers have also been offered in all mosques and shrines of the Valley, seeking mercy for Guru.

A general strike call given by the Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference and supported by several militant organisations and the Kashmir Bar Association against the death sentence crippled normal life in the Valley on Friday.

In a statement to the local media here, the Muzaffarabad-based United Jihad Council (UJC), an umbrella organisation of several militant outfits operating in Jammu and Kashmir, warned of ''dire consequences'' in case Guru was executed. A spokesman of the UJC, Sadaqat Hussain, described Guru as a ''non-combatant.'' MORE UNI AG PA VC1420