Author: Qaiser Mirza, Associated
Press Writer
Publication: The Associated Press
Date: February 4, 2001
Gunmen killed six people in a drive-by
shooting and injured five others in India's violence-wracked Kashmir state,
police said Sunday. The attack took place late Saturday in downtown Shrinagar
as the victims were returning home from work, said police officer Ghulam
Hasan Bhatt.
All the victims were members of
the minority Sikh community. Kashmir's population is overwhelmingly Muslim.
Five people died immediately, and
one died during surgery at a local hospital, Bhatt said. Five remained
hospitalized in serious condition.
Police imposed a curfew in many
parts of Shrinagar, fearing more violence or retaliatory attacks by the
small Sikh community. Paramilitary forces patrolled the streets and residents
were told to stay indoors.
Saturday's attack was the second
in a year against the Sikhs, who number 5,000 in Shrinagar, a city of 1
million people. On March 21, 35 Sikhs were killed by unidentified attackers
in the Sikh village of Chattisinghpora on the eve of former President Clinton's
weeklong visit to India.
None of the dozen militant groups
fighting to separate Kashmir from India claimed responsibility for the
attack. More than 30,000 people have been killed since the insurgency began
in 1989. However, human rights groups say the death toll exceeds 60,000.
