Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 8: The student protests in Kashmir today entered fourth week and hundreds of students clashed with police in several areas including in summer capital here during which several of them were injured while seven have been detained.
Early in the morning, students of Government Higher Secondary School Zainkote on city outskirts came on Srinagar-Baramulla Highway at Umerabad and staged protests against the State. The students shouted slogans and blocked vehicular movement on one patch of the road. Police rushed to the spot to disperse the protesters but they continued their protest.
In the meantime, an Army convoy passed through the area and some students pelted stones on the convoy after which soldiers fired some shots in air to scare away the protesting students. Due to aerial firing, there was panic in the area and people took it as militant attack on Army convoy. Sooner, police fired some teargas shells to disperse the protesters who pelted stones in retaliation and also had some altercation with the cops.
In south Kashmir’s Tral town in Pulwama district, students of local Government Higher Secondary came out on roads demanding action against the cops allegedly involved in thrashing of their peers at Pulwama Degree College last month. The students shouted slogans and also pelted stones on the security forces, triggering shutdown.
The police in retaliation chased the students and nabbed seven of them during stone-pelting. The area was tense throughout the day.
Intense stone-throwing clashes erupted between police and students at Newa since morning hours. The students of Government Higher Secondary Boys at Newa boycotted their classes and staged anti-Government protest. The police fired teargas shells to break up the protest after which students resorted to heavy stone-pelting on police, ensuing clashes that continued for several hours. In the clashes, a girl sustained head injury due to stone while several others fainted due to teargas smoke.
There was a minor incident of stone-pelting at Pulwama Town but overall situation remained peaceful throughout the day. Hundreds of students clashed with police in remote Qalamabad area of Langate in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district today. The students of local Government Higher Secondary School took to streets and staged anti-Government protests. They also expressed solidarity with their counterparts. In Qalamabad square, police intercepted the protesting students and fired teargas shells to break up their protest after which students engaged cops in stone-pelting clashes.
The clashes erupted also Aripathan village of central Kashmir’s Budgam district against detention of a local boy. The students as well as local youth held protests seeking detained boy’s release and clashed with police. There reports of minor stone-pelting from Budgam Town near Boys Higher Secondary School. Due to violence, several educational institutes are already closed in Sopore, Handwara and Srinagar areas of the Valley.
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