The attack and the clashes came on a day when Home Minister Rajnath Singh reached Srinagar and initiated dialogue with political parties.
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Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said that the Narendra Modi-led central government is honest about resolving the Kashmir unrest and ready to hold talks with every person who believes in “Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat“.
The relaxation in weeks of curfew and Home Minister’s planned visit followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on Monday that “there has to be a dialogue” for a “permanent and lasting solution” to the problem within the framework of the Constitution of India. They said, his meetings in Srinagar had not been finalized as yet.
At least 69 people have been killed and thousands injured in the violence that has crippled normal life in the Kashmir Valley for 46 days.
Several civilians were injured in the retaliatory fire by the police.
Mr. Singh, who is accompanied by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, will review the situation in Kashmir, where as many as 66 people have been killed and over 8,000 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces that broke out in the wake of killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani in an encounter. “He will meet the people in Srinagar, political leadership included”, a government source told media.
Rajnath Singh, accompanied by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officials, flew in by a special plane into the technical area of the Srinagar worldwide airport around 11.35 a.m.
While restrictions remained in the Old City, people going in twos or threes were not stopped. Separatist leaders have asked people to continue the shutdown till August 25.
The injured security personnel were rushed to nearby hospital, where from some of the injured were referred to Srinagar hospitals for specialized treatment.
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Later, a delegation of opposition National Conference led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met the Home Minister and urged him to immediately ban use of pellet guns as a crowd control means in Kashmir.
