Taxi driver killed in ambush, protests erupt in Kashmir

Srinagar, Dec 27 (UNI) A Tata Sumo driver was killed when militants ambushed the vehicle carrying soldiers in Pulwama district of south Kashmir last evening, triggering massive protests today by angry taxi operators over the Army's ''dictatorial policies'' toward them.

The Tata Sumo drivers, joined by villagers, staged protest at Shopian town, about 55 km from here, against the incident.

The angry protestors alleged that the Army used to force them to transport soldiers from one place to another for anti-militancy operations, putting their lives at high risk.

The taxi drivers protested against the ''dictatorial policies'' of the Army, alleging that the soldiers snatch their taxis at gunpoint and then use the vehicles in anti-militancy operations.

''They put our lives at high risk,'' the protestors shouted.

Besides the taxi driver, Mukhtar Ahmed, a soldier was also killed when militants fired at the Tata Sumo carrying them at Rakh Litter in Pulwama district last evening. Another soldier and a civilian, Mohammad Ramzan, sustained serious injuries in the firing.

An Army spokesman said militants opened heavy fire on a Tata Sumo carrying troops at Rakh Litter in Pulwama district. The driver of the vehicle was killed on the spot while two soldiers and a civilian were wounded in the firing, he added.

The spokesman said one of the soldiers later died in a hospital here. The condition of the other soldier was now stated to be stable, he added.

The spokesman said the vehicle had been hired by the Army and the troops were returning from a counter-insurgency operation when the incident occurred.

The Al Mansoorian militant outfit later claimed the responsibility for the attack.

UNI AG VD PM1717