Death of man in custody in Indian Kashmir sparks protests

Protests flared in parts of Indian Kashmir on Tuesday after police said a man being questioned in connection with a security investigation had died in custody, the latest disturbances in one of the world’s most militarized regions.

The dead man, Rizwan Asad Pandit, a chemistry graduate who taught at a private school, according to his family, had been arrested as part of a “terror case investigation”, a police spokesman said.

Inquiries were being carried out into the cause of his death, the spokesman said.

Protesters threw stones at police in several parts of the Muslim-majority region following news of Pandit’s death, with shops shutting in parts of the main city of Srinagar. Police responded with tear gas.

The dead man came from a family with links to the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), his brother said, a political group that wants independence from India for Kashmir.

“He was totally innocent and he had no affiliation with any militant outfit,” Pandit’s brother said.

(REUTERS)