Deadly grenade attack hits Kashmir amid India lockdown

At least one person has been killed and 34 others injured in a grenade attack in Indian-administered Kashmir‘s main city of Srinagar, Indian officials said, in the bloodiest incident since New Delhi stripped the region of its special status on August 5.

The injured, including three Indian paramilitary police, have been admitted to one of three hospitals on Monday after the blast on Hari Singh High Street in the centre of the city, said the officials, who declined to be named. One person is in a critical condition, they said.

Earlier, VK Birdi, one of Srinagar’s top police officials, said in a statement one person had died and at least 14 were injured.

India’s crackdown 

The attack comes five days after a truck driver was shot dead in Kashmir, while a grenade injured 20 people elsewhere.

The August decision was accompanied by a harsh crackdown, with New Delhi sending tens of thousands of additional troops to the already heavily-militarised region, imposing a sweeping curfew, arresting thousands and cutting virtually all communications.

Authorities have since eased restrictions, lifting roadblocks and restoring landlines and some cellphone services. But the region still remains cut off from the internet.

They have encouraged students to return to school and businesses to reopen. But Kashmiris have largely stayed home, in defiance or fear amid threats of violence.

As the crackdown continues, Kashmiris have quietly refused to resume their normal lives, confounding India at their own economic expense.

For now, businesses in Kashmir are still largely shut. Many markets are only open for a few hours each morning.

In recent weeks, five truck drivers and businessmen from other Indian states, who were associated with the valley’s vital apple trade, have been killed.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two of their three wars over control of the Muslim-majority region.