Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir detained at least 12 women for holding an anti-India protest and two suspected militants shot and killed a truck driver near an apple orchard where he had picked up fruit boxes, police said Tuesday.
The women, carrying placards reading "Respect Fundamental Rights" and "Why downgrade Jammu and Kashmir," assembled Tuesday in a park in Srinagar, the main city in the region.
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Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir detained at least 12 women for holding an anti-India protest and two suspected militants shot and killed a truck driver near an apple orchard where he had picked up fruit boxes, police said Tuesday.
The protesters included a sister and a daughter of Farooq Abdullah, a former top elected official who was arrested after India's government downgraded the region's semi-autonomy and imposed a security and communications lockdown in August.
He said the gunmen set the man's truck on fire and fled from Sindoo Shirmal, a village in southern Kashmir.
A small group of women under the banner of ‘Women of Kashmir’, hold placards during a peaceful protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. Police detained members of the group which had gathered to condemn Indian government downgrading the region's semi-autonomy and demanded restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
Kashmiri women argue with an Indian police officer after they were stopped from staging a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. Police detained a small group of women who had gathered for a peaceful protest to condemn Indian government downgrading the region's semi-autonomy and demanded restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
Police whisked them away to a nearby police station as they tried to march through the main business area of Lal Chowk. They were likely to be released later Tuesday.
Indian paramilitary women detain a Kashmiri woman who was among those protesting against Indian government downgrading the region's semi-autonomy in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. A small group of women under the banner of ‘Women of Kashmir’, a civil society group had gathered for a peaceful protest demanding restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
The protesters included a sister and a daughter of Farooq Abdullah, a former top elected official who was arrested after India's government downgraded the region's semi-autonomy and imposed a security and communications lockdown in August.
The shooting of the truck driver on Monday came during the apple season. Apple sales are more than 20% of Kashmir's economy, and police in the region say insurgent groups are pressuring traders and truck drivers to avoid the apple trade as part of anti-India protests.
Top police officer Muneer Ahmed Khan said the masked gunmen hijacked the truck from outside the orchard, where the vehicle was loaded with 800 apple boxes. They killed the driver after he had driven them about a kilometer (half a mile) from the spot, Khan said.
Indian paramilitary women detain a Kashmiri woman who was among those protesting against Indian government downgrading the region's semi-autonomy in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. A small group of women under the banner of ‘Women of Kashmir’, a civil society group had gathered for a peaceful protest demanding restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
He said the gunmen set the man's truck on fire and fled from Sindoo Shirmal, a village in southern Kashmir.
On Sept. 6, unknown gunmen fired at a fruit trader in northern Sopore, injuring him and four of his family members.
Militants have been fighting India's rule in the disputed Himalayan region since 1989. Tensions have been high and the apple trade has suffered after India's government imposed a security and communications lockdown in August.
Khalida Shah, sister of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference party leader Farooq Abdullah, holds a placard inside a police vehicle after she was detained by police in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. A small group of women under the banner of ‘Women of Kashmir’, a civil society group had gathered for a peaceful protest to condemn Indian government downgrading the region's semi-autonomy and demanding restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
A small group of women under the banner of ‘Women of Kashmir’, hold placards during a peaceful protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. Police detained members of the group which had gathered to condemn Indian government downgrading the region's semi-autonomy and demanded restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
Kashmiri women argue with an Indian police officer after they were stopped from staging a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. Police detained a small group of women who had gathered for a peaceful protest to condemn Indian government downgrading the region's semi-autonomy and demanded restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)