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[DAWN] Indian forces fired shotgun pellets and tear gas Saturday as thousands carried the body of a young boy killed overnight during an anti-India protest in SrinagarChanting slogans "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom", thousands of residents marched to the main Martyr's Graveyard in Srinagar for the burial of the 12-year-old boy.
The boy was critically injured on Friday evening after he was hit by shotgun pellets all over his body and died at a hospital early Saturday.
Residents said the young student was hit inside his home compound, some 30 feet from festivities between protesters and government forces. Police say he was part of the festivities.
Police and paramilitary soldiers fired warning shots, pellets and tear gas, fearing the procession could become a larger rally seeking an end of Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region, said a police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
in keeping with department policy.
Clashes broke out as hundreds of young men hurled rocks at the troops while another group of mourners changed route to bury the dead.
On Friday, at least 50 people were maimed during dozens of festivities as tens of thousands of Kashmiris protested against Indian rule.