Jammu:
Over 30 people, including 15 security personnel, were injured as fresh pitched battles between youths, protesting the killing of four civilians in BSF firing in Ramban district, and police erupted at several places in curfew-bound Kashmir Valley on Saturday.
Police fired teargas shells and rubber bullets and swung batons to quell violence as clashes took place at a number of places in Bandipora, Baramulla, Shopian, Kulgam and Budgam, officials said.
Protesters hurled stones at police who chased them, they said adding 32 people, including 15 police and CRPF personnel, were injured in the fresh violence.
A police spokesman put the number of those injured at 17 -- 15 securitymen and two civilians. He said the injured were in stable condition.
The situation was by and large peaceful in the entire Valley, the spokesman said.
Curfew on the day was earlier lifted in Ramban district even as fresh protests broke out in Banihal belt against the firing by BSF personnel with agitators blocking the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
"The situation is under control - it peaceful and normal--there have been no untoward reports from anywhere today", a police spokesman said here.
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was also reopened to traffic after a two-day closure over tensions in Ramban district where four persons were killed and several others injured in a firing incident.
"The highway has been reopened to vehicular traffic, which is now plying smoothly," SSP (National Highway), Virender Kumar said. The SSP, however, added that some disruption in traffic movement was reported in Banihal belt due to protests there.
The highway was closed to traffic on Thursday soon after an incident of firing in the Gool belt of Ramban district in which four persons were killed and 42 others injured after a mob attacked a BSF camp to protest against the alleged manhandling of an Imam of the area by security personnel.
Curfew has been lifted in Ramban district as the two-day curfew period expired last night and no fresh curfew orders were passed, officials said.
The Gool, Dharam and Sanglandan area of Ramban district, which have been epicentre of protests, have returned to normalcy.There is no tension, they said.
However, there have been fresh protests in Banihal belt of Ramban district where some people have assembled on the highway and are sitting on a dharna demanding the arrest of the people involved in Thursday's firing incident in Gool.
Additional police force has been deployed in the area to ensure that there is no violent protests.
On July 18, four persons were killed and 42 suffered injuries in the firing when a mob attacked a BSF camp in Dharam area of Ramban district to protest against alleged high-handedness by a BSF team.
Protests against the killing erupted across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday during which 16 people, including two policemen, were injured in clashes, stone-pelting and cane-charge in Jammu region's Doda district.
