Curfew in Sopore after youth killed in firing in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar, Jun 24 (PTI) Authorities today imposed curfew in Sopore township of Baramulla district of Kashmir Valley to prevent any law and order problem after a youth was killed and three others injured when security forces allegedly opened fire to disperse a stone-pelting mob yesterday. 

"Curfew has been imposed in Sopore town to prevent any law and order problem," a police spokesman said. He said there are no restrictions in any other part of Kashmir. However, normal life elsewhere in the Valley was disturbed due to a strike call by separatist groups to protest the killing.

Condemning the killing, both factions of Hurriyat Conference have called for a shutdown in the Valley. 

Shops, business establishments, educational institutions and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, officials said. Public transport was off the roads, while private cars, cabs and auto-rickshaws were seen plying, they said. 

Meanwhile, the top leadership of both factions of the Hurriyat has been placed under house arrest after the killing. Irshad Ahmad Shah was killed when security forces opened fire to disperse a group of youth who resorted to pelting stones at the forces, who were leaving Tarzoo area of Sopore after concluding an anti-militancy operation in which a top Pakistani "commander" of Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militant outfit was killed.