Youth critically injured in CRPF firing

SRINAGAR: A youth was critically injured when CRPF personnel opened fire on protesters at Kawdara in interior city on Thursday.

Zeeshan Bashir Dar (19) was hit by a bullet in the abdomen when CRPF personnel opened fire to chase away protesters at Kawdara this evening, official sources said.

Dar was immediately shifted to Soura Medical Institute where his condition was stated to be "critical", they said.

Three persons were killed and scores of others injured in the clashes in the past three days in the valley over the issue of allotment of land to the Amarnath shrine board.

In another incident, sources said several thousand protesters set ablaze a CRPF picket at Ontabhavan in Soura area on the outskirts of the city.

The protesters were angry over alleged desecration of a local mosque by troops while chasing stone-pelting mobs, the sources said, adding the CRPF personnel manning the picket fled on seeing the approaching mob and took shelter in a nearby camp.