Scores of students, policemen injured in fresh clashes

As higher educational institutions reopened after a week in Kashmir on Monday, fresh clashes erupted between students and police.

Scores of students and policemen, including senior superintendent of police Imtiyaz Ismail, superintendent of police Sheikh Faisal and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Imran Farooq, were injured in the day-long clashes.

The students of S P College and Women’s College on M A Road clashed with the police after these institutions re-opened on Monday after a five-day shutdown.

Refusing to join classes, the students came out on busy M A Road and tried to block traffic. However, police fired tear-smoke shells to disperse the protesting students, who retaliated by throwing stones.
Witnesses said the protesting students brought down a wall inside the S P College campus and used the bricks to attack the police.

In the ding-dong battles, scores of students and more than a dozen policemen were injured. Due to the clashes the markets in the neighbouring Residency Road and Lal Chowk were shut.

Police said six students were detained after they pelted police with stones outside S P College. The detained students were lodged in Kothibagh police station.

Authorities had opened universities, colleges and higher secondary schools in Kashmir after a week on Monday. The educational institutions were closed after massive clashes erupted between the students and security forces on April 15.

Rajnath reviews J&K situation
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir even as authorities said they were gearing up for a step-up in terrorist attacks during summer, DHNS reports from New Delhi.
Singh discussed ways to check infiltration bids from across the border with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and top officials of his ministry, paramilitary forces and chiefs of intelligence agencies. Officials gave Singh a detailed presentation on the ground situation in the Valley since the outbreak of violence during the April 9 bypoll to the Srinagar LS constituency. Singh is understood to have discussed with the officials what a top army commander in Kashmir had said.