Protest shutdown hampers life in Valley

Life across the Kashmir Valley was adversely affected on Wednesday following a shutdown called by separatists to protest against the death of a youth in police custody on Monday.

Rizwan Asad Pandit, 28, died in police custody in Srinagar, three days after he was arrested from south Kashmir's Awantipora town.

The custodial death of the youth, who worked as a teacher in a private school, has been condemned across the political and social divide in Kashmir.

Authorities have ordered a magisterial inquiry into it under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc).

A departmental inquiry has also been ordered by police to ascertain the circumstances that led to the youth's death.

Shops, public transport, other businesses and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar city and other district headquarters of the Valley.

Though skeletal private transport moved in the uptown area of Srinagar city, inter-district transport remained closed.

Authorities have made sufficient deployments of police and paramilitary forces to maintain law and order in the Valley.

Mobile and internet facilities have been suspended in south Kashmir districts, while its speed has been slashed down in other parts of the Valley as a precautionary measure.

--IANS

sq/rtp