Violent protests continue over Kangan incident

Srinagar, July 6: Angry residents blocked the Srinagar-Leh National Highway at Kangan for several hours again today in protest against an incident in which a soldier shot dead an old man and critically wounded two others before killing himself after he was caught in a 'compromising position' with a girl yesterday.

Thousands of Amarnath devotees, intending to undertake the pilgrimage from shorter track of Baltal, have been stranded on both sides of the national highway and at the base camp as well.

Thousands of pilgrims, Sonamarg-bound tourists and passengers on way to Srinagar, Kargil and Leh were stranded at Kangan for more than six hours yesterday also.

Hundreds of vehicles, carrying pilgrims, tourists and Ladakh and Srinagar-bound passengers, had to wait endlessly for the road to open.

Shouting slogans against the security forces, the protestors pelted stones on the police personnel who resorted to baton-charge and fired teargas shells to disperse the mob.

The residents were demanding a thorough inquiry into the incident and also the custody of the girl.

Several people were wounded in stone pelting and cane-charge.

Sowar Ranjeet Singh of 24 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was nearly lynched by residents who caught him in a ''compromising position'' with a local girl at Kangan, about 40 km from here, yesterday.

The soldier went berserk and opened indiscriminate fire on the mob, resulting in the death of 50-year-old Abdul Rehman Magray, a labourer, and serious injury to two others, including 60-year-old Abdul Razak Najar and Sajjad Ahmad.

Singh then shot himself dead. The incident had triggered massive protests in the area yesterday.

Police have recorded the statement of the girl who claimed that she was on way to a school to submit a form when the soldier forcibly took her inside an under-construction house.

The situation was very tense as additional police personnel were rushed to the area to control the frenzied mob.

UNI

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