Students across Srinagar threw stones at policemen on Thursday
Hundreds of students at government colleges in the Kashmir Valley threw stones at policemen deployed outside their institutions on Thursday, protesting what they called "killings in Kashmir by security forces".
The police had to call in reinforcements and resort to firing tear gas shells to disperse the students from the Amar Singh College in Srinagar. Some students, picked up the same tear gas shells, and threw them back at the cops outside.
The stand-off between the police and the students continued for at least a couple of hours.
A little distance away, outside a women's college at Lal Chowk in the heart of the city, students protested as well. All through the day, many such battles took place across the Kashmir valley.
Schools and colleges remained closed in Kashmir after a series of encounter on Sunday in south Kashmir, in which 13 terrorists were killed. Three soldiers and four civilians also died in the encounters.
"We are protesting against the killings in Kashmir, we can't tolerate this, youth can't keep quiet", said a college student.
On Thursday morning, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti visited the family of a young man who died on Tuesday after being shot in police action on Monday. The chief minister spent half an hour with the family amid heightened tension over the death.
A Jammu and Kashmir police constable has been suspended and the incident is being probed.
"Initial reports suggest excessive force was used, whosoever has committed excesses will be dealt sternly", said the chief minister.