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Last Updated: Friday, 9 February 2007, 15:51 GMT
Indian soldiers face murder probe
Protesters carry the body of Mohammad Afzal Kumhar
Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have opened a formal investigation of murder against a group of soldiers.

Local residents accuse the soldiers of killing a 37-year-old civilian shortly after three soldiers had been killed by presumed militants.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Tral, about 40km (24 miles) from the summer capital, Srinagar in protest at the man's death.

The military say the civilian was killed by the militants.

On Tuesday much of Indian-administered Kashmir was affected by a general strike called in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings by the security forces.

Hospital issue

Residents of Tral say the Indian troops dragged Mohammad Afzal Kumhar from a mosque on Friday and then shot him.

They say the troops did not allow the victim to be taken to hospital.

A police spokesman said a First Information Report (FIR), the preliminary formal stage of an investigation, had been registered against the police for murder.

The FIR was registered following street demonstrations by thousands of angry locals.

A defence spokesman says Mr Kumhar was killed by militants while they fled the scene after killing the three Indian soldiers.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspected militants had suffered casualties.

Earlier this week, separatists in Indian-administered Kashmir called a general strike in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings of civilians by security forces.

They accuse the police and security forces of killing people in faked gun battles.

Four bodies have been exhumed since last Thursday as part of an investigation into claims that clashes with militants were used to cover extra-judicial killings.

Militant groups have been fighting an insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989 and the conflict has cost over 60,000 lives.

Both the Indian army and separatist militants have faced repeated accusations of abuses by human rights groups.




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