Locals in Pulwama in Kashmir mourn the death of their loved ones.
Junaid Ahmad Dar, 13, had found a new toy in his neighbourhood last week. It had a clock in it, he had told his mother. But as he tried to hang it on his bedroom wall, it blew up, killing him and injuring his mother Dilshada Begum.
The "toy" was a grenade, left behind after an encounter between militants and the security forces in Baramulla, Dilshada later said, sobbing.
Small children, unsuspecting villagers are increasingly falling victim in explosives left on the encounter sites across Kashmir.
On August 5, a 10-year-old boy died and two other children were injured in Ganderbal district's Mansbal area when another grenade they were playing with blew up.
Locals in in Pulwama district are petrified about going their paddy fields. The area, they say, is littered with grenades. On August 11 -- two days after an encounter in which two militants were killed -- a major explosion took place the fields.
In February, 5 civilians were injured when a grenade went off at an encounter site two days after a gun battle with militants in Shopian district.
Locals say little or no sanitizing is done by the security forces after encounters are over.
"The killings happen because of the negligence of security forces. Had they come at right time and cleared the debris, the boy could have lived," said Abdul Rashid, a resident of Ladoora village, where Junaid lived.
The government says it will ensure that public safety is not compromised, but it also said the hostile crowds make mopping up at encounter sites impossible for the forces.
"Immediately after the encounters are over, crowds take over. I think the crowds should not be allowed to gather unless the entire area is tested and declared clean," said Naeem Akhtar, senior minister and government spokesman.