Fewer protests in Valley,but curfew on

J&K government Thursday ordered a probe into the killing of three boys allegedly by CRPF in south Kashmir's Anantnag district...

J&K government Thursday ordered a probe into the killing of three boys allegedly by CRPF in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district that sparked violent protests that are yet to die down.

“I have ordered a magisterial probe into the civilians killings,” said Deputy Commissioner Anantnag J P Singh. “The probe will be conducted by Additional District Commissioner Anantnag and he will submit the final report in 15 days.”

The probe,Singh said,will look into the circumstances that led to the death of Imtiyaz Ahmed Itoo,17,Shujat-ul-Islam Baba,17,and Ishtiaq Ahmed Khanday,15 on Tuesday.

A probe is already on into the death of Shakeel Ahmad Ganie,24,and Firdous Ahmad Khan,21, in CRPF firing in north Kashmir’s Sopore on Friday.

The violent protests sparked by the killings are beginning to abate. Barring a few incidents of demonstrations and stone-pelting,the Valley remained largely clam but tense on Thursday. Sopore and Baramulla in north,Anantnag,Pulwama and Kulgam in south and parts of capital Srinagar remained curfewed.

A girl was injured when an unidentified explosive went off near her house at Bachoo in Baramulla district while suspected militants fired two rifle grenades in Sopore,police said.

In Srinagar,activists of women’s organisation Dukhtaran-e-Millat clashed with police and CRPF when they thwarted their attempt to take out a march to Pather Masjid,called by the Hurriyat Conference. At least five activists were injured in the clash.

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Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,who has untill now relied mostly on security forces to clam the Valley,made his first political intervention by sending out ministers to different parts of the state “to reach out to people”. The ministers,however,did not succeed much as people stayed away from their meetings.

Meanwhile,the first batch of Amarnath pilgrims left for the cave shrine from the base camps of Nunwan in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal. “The pilgrimage is going smoothly. The first batch of 5,000 Amarnath pilgrims left for the holy cave from Pahalgam. Many among them must have reached the cave by now,” Singh said.