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SRINAGAR, India - Troops in Indian Kashmir fired guns in the air and lobbed tear gas on Wednesday at mobs protesting the death of a man they say was abducted by security forces. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
The violence is the latest in a series of confrontations that periodically rock Kashmir, where Muslim separatists have been fighting Indian rule for 20 years.
Trouble started after the discovery of the mutilated body of Asrar Ahmed, 22, in a graveyard late Tuesday. His family identified Ahmed by the clothes on his body, his father Mushtaq Ahmed told The Associated Press. He gave no other details.
Senior Superintendent of Police Afad-ul-Mujatada said Ahmed's body had multiple injuries on the head. He said police are investigating the calls registered on his mobile phone.
Ahmed had gone missing in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Friday. Residents alleged that he had been taken into custody by security forces illegally. Mujatada denied he had been in police custody, adding that the body has been handed over to the family for the funeral, expected later Wednesday.
As news of the body's discovery spread, thousands of residents came out on the streets of Srinagar, hurling stones at security forces and setting at least one police vehicle on fire. Mujatada said two police were injured.
Shops shut down hastily as security forces tried to beat back the protesters, firing above their heads and throwing tear gas.
Thousands of people participated in the protests, which largely took place in the downtown areas of Maisuma and Lal Chowk. About 3,000 students also demonstrated inside a local university, clashing with police who again fired tear gas. Several smaller protests took place in other parts of the city.
Late last month, Indian security forces opened fire and lobbed tear gas to disperse hundreds of stone-throwing pro-independence demonstrators, killing four and injuring dozens in Baramullah town, 35 miles (55 kilometres) north of Srinagar.
Also, at least two people were killed and more than 400 injured in clashes during anti-India protests that erupted after the bodies of a 17-year-old girl and her 22-year-old sister-in-law were found in a shallow stream in late May.
Residents of the area accused Indian soldiers of raping and killing the women. Authorities have not commented on the allegations.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which is divided between India and Muslim-majority Pakistan and claimed in its entirety by both. The South Asian neighbours have fought two of three wars over the Himalayan region since independence from Britain in 1947.
Separatist militants have been fighting since 1989 for the independence for India's only Muslim-majority region from the Hindu-majority country or its merger with Pakistan. More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict.
