Funeral of slain teen turns violent in volatile Indian Kashmir

Police and paramilitary troops have clashed with thousands of people, who had turned out for the funeral of a teenage boy killed during pro-independence protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

According to the reports, speaking on condition of anonymity, a police officer said the scuffles broke out at Martyr's Graveyard in Srinagar on Saturday.

Policemen and paramilitary forces fired tear gas, pellets and live rounds into the air to disperse the funeral procession of 12-year-old Junaid Ahmed, who according to witnesses, was sprayed with pellets in the lawn outside his home on Friday, the officer said.

"We are taking all possible measures so that the protests don't spread to other areas," the officer said, referring to the curfew imposed in several parts of Srinagar.

Saturday’s funeral procession saw angry mourners chanting slogans such as, "We want freedom," and "Go India, go back,” with a number of young men hurling rocks at the government troops.

Some tear gas shells fired by police landed near the mourners, who were carrying Ahmed’s body draped in a Pakistani flag with pro-independence slogans written on it.

The boy, who was hit by shotgun pellets all over his body, succumbed to his wounds at hospital. Police claimed that the young student was part of Friday’s confrontation between demonstrators and government forces. The scuffles left more than 50 people injured.

Additionally on Friday, suspected rebels fired at a police post in Shopian Hill district, killing an officer and injuring three others.

According to a police statement, the assailants tried to snatch weapons from a police bunker.

SS