Death toll in northern India spikes as bloodshed engulfs Kashmir

Clashes between civilians and police in India's northern region of Kashmir has spiked to at least 23 in the third day of violent unrest that has engulfed the Valley since the funeral of famed separatist militant Burhan Muzaffar Wani on Saturday.

In recent days, enraged mobs have attacked at least 15 police posts and dozens of government buildings, set fire to a police station and a railway station and pushed one police vehicle into Jhelum River at Sangham in southern Kashmir, possibly drowning the officer inside as he is now missing, reports an epa journalist on the scene, adding that authorities are struggling to contain the thousands-strong hordes of rioters.

Local media has reported 21 dead with 230 injured, including 100 policemen, according to the region's largest circulated paper, the Daily Excelsior.

A curfew remains in place in many parts of the city, forbidding people from leaving their houses at any point during the day.

Some 10,000 Hindu pilgrims have also been left stranded on their way Amarnath Shrine at a cave in Jammu, a trek of 3,888-meters that up to 100,000 people were expected to make between July 2 until August 18.

Following the funeral for 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who died at the hands of police forces in a shootout last week, separatist leaders had called on the public to shut down the city to "pay for" the death.

"What the Indian forces are doing here is terrorism. Burhan's martyrdom has proven that the struggle for freedom is holy and is justified as the whole nation supports it," said Huriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Geelani Sahab.

Burhan was renowned for recruiting separatist youths to the insurgency through social media and is hailed as a "hero in the freedom struggle," according to the HC Chairman.

The Hizbul Mujahideen is designated as a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and Indian government, which has for years deployed paramilitary personnel bolstered by legal immunity for their actions to squash any separatist sentiments harbored by local communities.

New Delhi politicians have expressed anguish over the uprising, calling on Kashmiris to refrain from further bloodshed.

"I appeal to the people of J&K to remain calm and maintain peace," tweeted the Indian Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh, referring to the restive Jammu and Kashmir state by its well-known acronym.

Source: EFE