Five people were killed and 51 injured in revolt-racked Indian Kashmir when Islamic rebels detonated a grenade to escape from a house where they had tried to abduct a civilian, police said on Wednesday.
But witnesses dismissed the police account and said one of the men who entered the house west of Srinagar was a former militant working for Indian security forces who tried to extort money from the occupant.
Police said in a statement four militants entered the house late on Tuesday, planning to kidnap the owner.
”Their move was resisted by the inmates who raised an alarm, attracting the attention of neighbours,” the statement said. One of the rebels was overpowered after which the other militants hurled a grenade, killing the guerrilla and injuring 55 civilians, it said.
The other militants fled after the blast, the statement said.
Four civilians died in hospital while six were in critical condition. The homeowner’s fate was not immediately known.
Police identified the slain militant as Bilal Ahmed.
But witnesses said the man was a former rebel working for Indian security forces and he died when the grenade he was carrying exploded during a scuffle with locals who were trying to stop him extorting money from the home owner.
One witness said Ahmed had been provided with arms for protection but was ”using the weapons and grenades for extorting money from the civilians”.
”Last evening he and his accomplices again came to extort money,” he said.
Locals allege such extortion activities are common in Indian Kashmir.
The police statement said they were investigating the incident.
Kashmir is in the throes of a separatist insurgency that erupted in 1989 and has left more than 40 000 people dead, according to official figures. Separatists put the death toll between 80 000 and 100 000. — Sapa-AFP