Indian gov't forces kill 4 protesters in Kashmir

      
Police in the Indian portion of Kashmir say government forces have fatally shot four villagers and wounded 25 others who were protesting the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book by border guards.                 

The protesters accused the Indian Border Security Force soldiers of entering a religious seminary Wednesday night looking for Kashmiri militants in Dharam, a village 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.                

The head of the school, Qari Shabir, said the border guards tore pages of several copies of the Quran after beating a school caretaker.                

Shabir said that on Thursday, government forces opened fire twice to disperse thousands of villagers who were marching to the religious school to protest the incident. Police said four of the villagers were killed.             


AP