Police break up Kashmir protests

Kashmiri Muslim men hurl rocks at policemen in clouds of teargas during a protest in Srinagar, yesterday. Several people were hurt when police baton-charged a group of Kashmiris protesting at the alleged rape reported over the weekend of a Muslim girl and her mother by Indian troops, police and witnesses said. Clashes broke out after several hundred Muslims, mostly youths, took to the streets chanting anti-government and anti-army slogans. PHOTO: AFP

Several hundred demonstrators, shouting "God is great, punish the guilty," retaliated by hurling back the exploded teargas shells at police and pelting them with stones and bricks.

The clashes erupted in Srinagar, summer capital of India's only Muslim-majority state, racked by a deadly 15-year-old insurgency against New Delhi's rule.

Seven demonstrators and five policemen were injured, police said. Eight protesters were taken into custody.

There have been four days of protests since the mother and daughter reported the alleged sexual assault, the third such accusation against Indian forces in less than two weeks.

Indian army chief General N.C. Vij has taken charge of an army probe into the newest claim, demanding its completion within a week. Anyone found guilty "will be expeditiously dealt with," his office said in a statement.

The major who led the search of the family's house has been transferred to other duties "pending inquiries," an army spokesman said.

Doctors conducted physical examinations of the mother and daughter but no report has been made public. The scenic Himalayan state's government has also announced an investigation.

Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, and president of the regional ruling Peoples Democratic Party, branded the alleged incident "brutal and shameful".