Boy succumbs to injuries in Jammu & Kashmir protests

A 17-year-old boy today succumbed to his injuries which he sustained during the clashes between youths and security forces here in the aftermath of the Lal Chowk encounter incident, triggering fresh protests in some parts of the city.

Inayatullah Khan died at the Soura Medical institute this morning, a police spokesman said.

Khan was hit by a bullet when CRPF personnel allegedly charged on a crowd assembled yesterday outside Punjab Hotel, the scene of fierce 22-hour long gunbattle between militants and security forces in Lal Chowk here, he said.

As soon as the body of Khan reached his Dalgate house today, the residents of the area took to the streets demanding punishment to the personnel involved in the firing, sources said.

They blocked the road in Dalgate. But the protesters resorted to stone pelting after the police used batons to disperse them.

Shops and business establishments in the area remained closed today as a mark of protest against the killing of the youth.

At Maisuma, in the heart of the city, youths took to the streets and pelted stones on police and paramilitary forces deployed in the area to maintain law and order.