Violence flared up in India-administered Kashmir on Monday, when 15 civilians and a policeman were killed in protests against Indian rule and reported Koran desecrations in the United States. Amid the demonstrations, which also left 90 injured on the deadliest day in three months of unrest, New Delhi renewed its offer of a peace dialogue with groups in the insurgency-torn region, dpa reported. Protests in the town of Tangmarg, near the state capital Srinagar, left six people dead and 20 injured. Angry mobs set ablaze government offices and a Christian missionary school, local police said. Five people, including a policeman, were also killed during violence in the district of Badgam. The police constable was run over by a truck carrying a slogan-shouting mob. Another three deaths were reported in the town of Pampore, while two men died in the districts of Bandipora and Anantnag, where thousands defied strict curfews and clashed with security forces. With Monday's deaths, the total number of people killed during the unrest in the Muslim-majority region since June rose to 86. Most victims were shot by police trying to disperse stone-throwing mobs. State authorities drew distinctions between Monday's protests and the anti-India agitation, saying the latest violence was instigated by reports on an Iranian television channel that a copy of the Koran was damaged by anti-Islam protestors in the US over the weekend. Scores of demonstrators took to the streets in the region, shouting anti-India and anti-US slogans and burning effigies of US President Barack Obama. The state government appealed to people to maintain calm. "Please, please do not take law into your hands. I appeal to all of you to help us to restore order," SS Kapoor, Kashmir's top official, said in a televised appeal. State police chief Kuldeep Khoda told reporters that separatist leaders were behind the escalation in violence. He said 52 activists of the main separatist Hurriyat alliance and the Muslim League were arrested in Badgam. In New Delhi, meanwhile, senior ministers met to review measures that give wide-ranging powers to the armed forces in Kashmir. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) discussed the use of the 20-year-old Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which human rights groups say is often misused by the security forces. "We are willing to talk to every person or group which abjures violence, within the framework of our constitution," Indian Premier Manmohan Singh said, renewing the dialogue offer. "The unrest in the state of Jammu and Kashmir over the last few weeks is a matter of concern. The youth of Kashmir are our citizens and their grievances have to be addressed," he added. The CCS called an all-party meeting on Wednesday to discuss the volatile situation in Kashmir and indicated the Indian government's intention to restart the dialogue in the state, saying it was the only way forward to find an "honourable and lasting solution." The disputed Kashmir region is divided into two parts, one administered by India and the other by Pakistan.
