Indian tourist dies in stone-throwing protest in Kashmir

An Indian police officer chases stone-throwing Kashmiri protesters in Srinagar on Monday, May 7, 2018. Government forces opened fire on protesters on Sunday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing five people and wounding dozens more who had been trying to reach the site of the gun battle in which soldiers killed five rebels. Armed police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled across the region and also enforced a security lockdown amid a shutdown called by separatists. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

SRINAGAR, India — An Indian tourist was killed during a stone-throwing protest in Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday, as the disputed region shut for a third straight day following the killings of civilians and rebels during weekend gun battles and anti-India protests.

The tourist, from India’s Tamil Nadu state, was critically wounded overnight when protesters pelted stones at the minibus he was traveling in on his way back from a tourist resort near western Narbal village, police said.

The 22-year-old was shifted to a hospital in the region’s main city of Srinagar, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Separatists challenging India’s sovereignty over Kashmir and pro-India Kashmiri politicians condemned the incident.

Shops, schools, and businesses were shut again on Tuesday to protest the killings of eight rebels and six civilians during anti-India protests and fighting with government forces over the weekend.

Police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled across the region and enforced a security lockdown in old parts of Srinagar, the urban heart of anti-India protests.

Internet on cellphones also remained suspended for the third straight day, a common practice by Indian authorities to make organizing protests more difficult.

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir but both claim it in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding Indian-controlled Kashmir be made part of Pakistan or become an independent country.

In recent years, Kashmir has seen renewed rebel attacks and repeated public protests against Indian rule as a new generation of Kashmiri rebels, especially in the southern parts of the region, has revived the militancy and challenged New Delhi’s rule with guns and effective use of social media.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.                  /kga