Protests erupt in Kashmir over abduction,rape by Army personnel

They pelted stones on police and paramilitary personnel who used batons to disperse the mob which set afire the official vehicle of local Tehsildar (revenue official) and a private scooter.

As police action failed to restore order,the security personnel fired several rounds of tear smoke shells,leading to pitched battles between the two sides,they said.

All shops and business establishments remained closed and reinforcements have been rushed to the area to restore law and order,the sources said,adding the situation in the area continues to be tense.

Senior police and civil administration officials are monitoring the situation,the sources said.

Police has already registered a case and constituted a special investigation team to probe the allegations levelled by the 32-year-old woman. Army had also ordered an internal inquiry.

Meanwhile,opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti visited the village of the woman and urged the locals to remain peaceful.

The PDP president refused to leave the village till the woman,who had gone to the police station in the morning,returned home.

Demanding a thorough probe,the PDP president asked the police to function in a “purely professional and neutral way” and stressed that there was “no substitute to transparency”.

Meanwhile,MLA from Kulgam M Y Tarigami called for an impartial probe into the allegations and urged the people to exercise restraint and allow the law to take its course.

He objected to the deployment of large number of police and paramilitary personnel in the village.

“I fail to understand the logic behind such heavy presence of police and CRPF in such a small and sparsely populated village. It has acted as fuel on the raging fire,” he said.