Kashmir protests spread to Indian cities

Riots erupted across Indian-controlled Kashmir yesterday as Muslims mourned 15 people killed in a day of bloody violence, as the protests spread to other parts of India.Meanwhile, Indian police say they have issued orders to shoot protesters defying a curfew in the town of Kishtwar in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Violence has roiled the Himalayan region since June 23 when Muslims and Hindus began tit-for-tat protests over a government proposal to transfer land to a Hindu shrine in India's only Muslim-majority state.In the town of Kishtwar, where Hindus and Muslims clashed Tuesday leaving two dead, police said they would shoot anyone violating a curfew. Kishtwar is some 155 miles north of Jammu, the region's only majority Hindu city.In Srinagar, the main city in the region, several thousand protesters took to the streets, attacking police posts and chanting slogans calling for revenge.Separatist political leaders called for three days of mourning and urged people to keep their protests peaceful.Among those gunned down by Indian security forces on Monday was a prominent, moderate separatist leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who was leading a protest near the Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.Two senior separatist leaders, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani, have called for "non-violent protest demonstrations" to continue.The protests spilled over to other parts of India yesterday, with Hindu nationalist groups blocking traffic and railway lines for several hours in New Delhi, Mumbai and the tourist hub of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal.In New Delhi and Mumbai several dozen activists from the World Hindu Organisation, known as the VHP, blocked roads for up to two hours, demanding that the land allocated to the shrine be restored. The plan had been shelved after widespread Muslim protests.Some 50 protesters were detained in Mumbai, police said. Meanwhile, in Agra, activists blocked railway lines for several hours disrupting rail schedules across northern India, said railway official Nirmal Sharma.Police shot and killed 15 people Tuesday as thousands took to the streets to protest his death.