Part of India-controlled Kashmir paralyzed over death verdict
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Muslim-dominated areas of India-controlled Kashmir including its capital Srinagar were brought to shutdown Friday after a Kashmiri separatist alliance called for a general strike against the death verdict given to two Kashmiris, officials and locals said.
Both hardline and moderate factions of Hurriyat Connference and other groups spearheaded the protest against the death sentence of two Kashmiri men found guilty of terrorism in the 1996 bombing in New Delhi that killed 13 people.
On Thursday, a New Delhi court sentenced to death three men including two Kashmiris -- Mohammed Ali Bhatt and Nissar Hussain Mirza.
However, authorities fearing clashes in the Srinagar, the summer capital of India-controlled Kashmir, deployed hundreds of paramilitary troopers and policemen to impose restrictions, blocking roads by placing barricades.
The chairman of moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been placed under house arrest. Mirwaiz was supposed to address the Friday afternoon congregation in Jamia Masjid (grand mosque) at old city.
"The restrictions have been enforced to prevent clashes in the city and maintain law and order," said a police officer posted in the city.
Business, shops and government offices remained closed in Srinagar and traffic was off the roads. Similar reports were received from other districts of the region.
Separatists argue the arrested persons have been denied a fair trial and are being falsely implicated in the case.
The death sentence evoked strong reaction among the relatives of the convicted, who will appeal to higher court.
"I was expecting my brother would be released. But the court passed death sentence against him. He was a child when he was arrested. I swear he was innocent and had nothing to do with any subversive activity. We will challenge the sentence," said Zafar Hussain Mirza, bother of Nisar Hussain Mirza.
Separatists in the region have been demanding end of New Delhi' s rule inIndia-controlled Kashmir.
Militants are engaged in a guerrilla war with the Indian army and paramilitary troops stationed in the region over the past two decades.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from British rule, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
