Shots fired in Kashmir protests

By Altaf Hussain
BBC News, Srinagar

Tension has been high in Indian-administered Kashmir in recent weeks

Police have opened fire during angry demonstrations held in defiance of a curfew in the town of Baramullah in Indian-administered Kashmir.

One person was injured as police tried to disperse the protesters.

The town had been placed under indefinite curfew after the killing of two youths when police fired on demonstrators on Monday.

The protests in Baramullah were triggered by the alleged assault of a woman at a local police station.

The government has ordered a magisterial probe into the killings of the protesters and also into the initial allegations of assault.

The neighbouring town of Sopore has also been placed under curfew as a precautionary measure.

A three-day strike has begun across the Kashmir Valley to protest against the police use of force in the Baramullah protests.

Separatist groups called for the strike over the recent rape and murder of two women in the southern town of Shopian.

The Shopian killings have caused unrest across the Kashmir Valley for more than a month now.