Indian Kashmir shuts down to protest boy's death

Groups of protesters gathered on the streets of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir, in response to a call for a strike by the region's main separatist alliance. Thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled the streets and erected road checkpoints.

On Sunday, 14-year-old Wamiq Farooq was struck on the head by a tear gas shell fired by police just after a protest against Indian rule ended. Police later said the officer who fired the tear gas had been suspended for "a callous and irresponsible action."

On Monday, hundreds of rock-throwing protesters clashed with government forces in Srinagar.

Police and paramilitary soldiers again used tear gas to quell those protests and at least 17 protesters and eight soldiers were injured, a police officer said on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.

Kashmir, which is predominantly Muslim, is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the Himalayan region, where more than a dozen rebel groups have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with neighboring Pakistan since 1989.

More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the uprising and the subsequent Indian crackdown.

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