Indian-controlled Kashmir shuts to protest civilian killings

Muslim majority areas of Indian-controlled Kashmir including Srinagar city, the summer capital Wednesday observed complete shutdown to protest the killing of civilians by unknown gunmen.

The call for shutdown was jointly given by separatist groups against the mysterious killing of civilians in volatile Sopore town.

The town, about 52 km northwest of Srinagar city, witnessed a series of civilian killings. While four were killed last week, the number of such killings has gone up to six in the past four weeks.

The shutdown has affected normal life in the region. Shops, businesses, educational institutions remained closed in the wake of the shutdown call. Attendance in government offices and banks remained affected to a large extent, too.

Public transport was off the roads. Private vehicles were seen plying at various places in the city and other districts.

The killings have triggered panic among the local residents, and police and militant groups have traded accusations on each other.

Indian police Tuesday claimed it has unmasked two killers behind the killings and offered a bounty of 31,136 U.S. dollars for providing information about the duo.

The policemen put up posters of militants in the town, who according to them were carrying out the killings.

The police posters came a day after Indian-controlled Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed directed police to step up investigations into the killings of the civilians.

Reports said the two militants have fallen apart from the region's indigenous militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

While India police blames militants for the killings, the separatists and militant groups held "Indian agencies" responsible for the killings.

The region's militant alliance United Jihad Council in a statement to a local newsgathering agency, however, has rejected the police investigations.

"United Jihad Council makes it clear that whosoever is involved in these killings irrespective of whether he is affiliated with any organization will be treated as Indian agent and anti-freedom movement element and he will be put to death," the newsagency quotes alliance spokesperson Syed Sadaqat Hussain as saying.

The former chief minister of the region Omar Abdullah too blamed New Delhi for these killings and based his argument on Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's statement that they will use militants to kill militants.

Last month a less known militant outfit Lashkar-e-Islam attacked mobile phone towers and killed two people associated with cellphone companies in a bid to disrupt mobile phone connectivity in Sopore.

A separatist movement and guerrilla war challenging New Delhi's rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. Endi