MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Six people were killed and several injured on Sunday as a result of clashes erupted between police and protesters in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir amid by-elections in Srinagar parliament’s constituency, local media reported.
Clashes took place in different parts of the constituency with security forces supported by the army opening fire in several incidents, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
According to local officials, the by-elections turnout was unprecedentedly low – only 5.84 percent at 3:00 p.m. (09:30 GMT).
Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since partition of India in 1947. The two countries have gone through three wars over the region, but the conflict has not been resolved. The recent escalation is connected with the killing of Burhan Wani, the leader of a Kashmiri separatist group, outlawed in India, by Indian security forces in July 2016.