8 Women among 10 injured after forces fire pellets in Shopian; Clashes erupt after forces raid Burhan Wani’s home

Ten persons, including eight women, were injured after government forces fired pellets to break up a demonstration in Shopian town in south Kashmir on Saturday.
Witnesses said that forces raided a locality in the town to stop the anthem being played on the public address system of a mosque on the maiden death anniversary of slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

However, people, mostly women staged a protest to stop the forces from entering the mosque.
The forces, they said, fired pellets at the protesters, resulting into injuries to ten people.
A woman hit by pellets has been shifted to Srinagar for specialized treatment, they said.

Meanwhile, clashes erupted on Saturday after police and paramilitary troopers raided the home of slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani where people had assembled for fateha (prayers) on his first death anniversary.
Witnesses said that policemen and CRPF troopers asked Burhan’s father Muzaffar Wani to vacate the tent erected inside the premises of his house in five minutes.

“Muzaffar sahib asked them to allow them to offer fateha at the grave of Burhan Wani, located half a kilometer from his house in Sharifabad,” said a witness.
“However, they denied and asked to vacate the house in five minutes. This angered the youth who were present there.”
Soon, clashes erupted between the two sides.

Witnesses said that forces resorted to tear smoke shelling to chase away the protesting youth.
Some shells, they said, landed inside the nearby shrine.
Reports said that six youth were also detained during the clashes.
Meanwhile, a strict curfew is in place in the area to prevent pro-Burhan rallies.