Anti-Indian protests provoked police in Kashmir to fire into the crowd, killing boy and injuring 15 others

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Police opened fire at rock-throwing Kashmiris today, killing an 11-year-old boy and sparking violent street protests by thousands of people. At least 22 were wounded in India's portion of the troubled Himalayan region.

More than 60 people have died in anti-India demonstrations and clashes between security forces and protesters in the disputed state since June. Anger against Indian rule runs deep in Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan. Both nations claim the state in its entirety.

Today's incident took place in the southern town of Anantnag, where hundreds of residents held protests. Security forces fired teargas and gunshots. The 11-year-old boy was killed and 15 people were injured in the shooting, a police officer said.

As the news of the young boy's death spread, thousands in neighbouring towns and villages held angry street protests, forcing government forces to retreat from the area.

Fierce clashes between government forces and the protesters also erupted in the neighbouring town of Pulwama, police said. Local people attacked a police station with rocks, forcing government forces to fire guns to quell the protest. At least two people were critically wounded in the firing, the officer said.

Earlier police opened fire in Srinagar after people in Indian Kashmir's main city attacked them with stones, injuring five people.

However, Hanief Ahmed, a local resident, said the shooting was unprovoked. Officers targeted a group of men playing a board game on the street, he said. "There was no protest and police fired at them without any reason," Ahmed said.

Hundreds of people defied a curfew in Srinagar to demonstrate against the shooting, chanting "Go India! Go back" and "We want freedom." Police fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

The demonstrations that started in June are reminiscent of the late 1980s when protests against New Delhi's rule sparked an armed conflict that has killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians. The latest unrest against Indian authority shows no signs of abating – despite the deployment of thousands of troops.

Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, has questioned crowd-control tactics employed by security forces in Kashmir and ordered officials to use non-lethal measures to control demonstrations.

Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims peacefully protested against Indian rule at several other places in the region after noon prayers at mosques. The protesters reject Indian sovereignty over Kashmir and want to form a separate country or merge with Pakistan.