Seven civilians and three militants were killed while over 40 people were injured after an encounter at Kulgam in south Kashmir on Sunday.
It's not clear whether the civilians were killed due to security force's action or due to an explosion at the encounter site at Laroo.
Three civilians died on the spot while four others succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Those injured were shifted to the district hospital in Kulgam, SMHS hospital in Srinagar and the district hospital in Anantnag.
Earlier, police had said a civilian was killed due to a blast near the site of encounter.
In a statement, a police spokesman said, “Civilians visited the encounter site immediately after the operation in spite of the request not to visit as thorough search is to be made for explosives once flames douse off.
“They didn't listen and visited the spot immediately after the force withdrew and some explosives went off resulting in injuries to the civilians,'' he said.
Separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement said, ''We strongly condemned and protest the mayhem unleashed in Kulgam by the ruthless Indian state in which so far five civilians and three armed youth were killed besides injuries to scores.''
Mirwaiz said the Joint Resistance Leadership, which apart from him includes Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik, has called for a complete shutdown on Monday and a sit-in protest on Tuesday at Lal Chowk.
The governor's administration said it was anguished over civilian killings in Kulgam and announced an ex gratia of Rs one lakh to the next of kin of the deceased. Director General of Police Dilbag Singh expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
Kashmir Economic Alliance chairperson Yaseen Khan also condemned the civilian killings.
''Our youth are being slaughtered like animals as the government of India refuses to give up the policy of repression and acknowledge the people will not yield to submission,'' Khan said in a statement. He also extended support to the JRL strike call on Monday.
