In Kashmir's Violence-Hit Handwara, Army Bunkers Removed

Handwara: Bulldozers tore down army bunkers this morning at Kashmir's Handwara town, a week after a young cricketer and two others were killed in firing by security forces.

Four bunkers set up 23 years ago in the north Kashmir town were razed by the administration. The army, which had refused to move out of the town, relented after "negotiations with the administration and the an intervention at the highest level at the state government and army command," sources say. 

As the main bunker came down in the heart of the town, locals immediately put up a banner naming the square after Nayeem Bhat, a 19-year-old cricketer who was killed in the firing last Tuesday.
 The clashes began with allegations that a soldier had molested a schoolgirl. The police say the security forces opened fire when a mob surrounded a bunker and threw rocks.

The deaths in Handwara led to more clashes and protests in other parts of the Kashmir Valley. A 15-year-old boy was killed in Kupwara.

Yesterday, the moment curfew was relaxed in Handwara, hundreds of people came out on the streets to pull down the army posts.

Confronting massive public anger, the army had refused to remove its posts saying they were strategically important for troops involved in anti-insurgency ops.

The army suspects a plan behind the protests that are unusual for Handwara, an area where the influence of separatists is practically non-existent.

The schoolgirl at the heart of the turmoil told a magistrate on the weekend that a boy harassed her and locals instigated the protests. Her mother, however, alleges that she is under pressure and has been illegally detained at the police station since last Tuesday.

A shopkeeper, Hilal Ahmad Banday, has been arrested for allegedly circulated the molestation rumours that drove a mob against the army.

Responding to the locals' demand, the administration promised to remove the army bunkers but protesters refused to back down until the structures came down.