Indian troops killed four militants in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) on Wednesday and clashed with protesters, as the valley held the latest leg of multi-stage elections.Troops also defused a bomb in Anantnag district minutes before voting centres opened on Wednesday morning for the day-long polls, a police official said. "It was planted by militants on the edge of a road," an officer said. In the neighbouring district of Shopian, security forces shot dead two top commanders of Hizbul Mujahedin.
One of the slain, Rais Ahmed, had escaped from police custody last month while being escorted to a court. In northern Baramulla district, police said, troops shot dead two more separatists during a gunbattle on Wednesday afternoon.
Later in Anantnag, police wielding batons dispersed scores of anti-election protesters. Despite the clashes, voters turned out in large numbers. Wednesday's voting was the sixth and penultimate stage of the always tense election process in IHK.
Separatist politicians and militants had called for a boycott of the polls, arguing that elections strengthen New Delhi's hold over IHK. The first five rounds of voting saw turnout of more than 50 percent. "Over 60 percent eligible voters took part in today's (Wednesday's) polling," senior government official Masood Samoun told reporters in Srinagar.
A strict security clampdown was imposed in Srinagar to prevent protests by anti-election separatists, who want to secede the region from India and join it with Pakistan or make it independent. The polls are staggered to allow time for troops to be moved around and provide adequate security. Srinagar votes in the final stage on December 24.