SRINAGAR, India — Government forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Thursday fatally shot four villagers and wounded 25 others who were protesting the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book by border guards, police said.
The violence — which came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — could spark protests in the disputed Himalayan region, with separatist groups that reject India’s sovereignty over the region calling for three days of strikes and protest beginning Friday.
The protesters accused the Indian Border Security Force soldiers of entering a religious seminary Wednesday night looking for Kashmiri militants in Dharam, a village 140 miles south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.
The head of the seminary, Qari Shabir, said the border guards tore pages of several copies of the Koran after beating a school caretaker.
As thousands of villagers marched to the seminary on Thursday to protest the alleged desecration of the Korans, government forces opened fire to stop them, wounding several, Shabir said.
Thousands of people from other areas joined the protests. They resumed the march, with government forces again firing at protesters, he said.