Indian army lined up and shot dead 40 Sikh villagers after dark in occupied Kashmir,
casting a pall of violence over the start of President Bill Clinton's visit to India on Tuesday.
At 7:45pm, gunmen wearing Indian army uniforms knocked on every door and asked the
male members to come out, saying they were looking for militants,"Bittu Singh, a 24 year old
Sikh villager said.
"They collected the men in two batches of 18 at two different places in the village,"he said.
Raju Singh, who refused to come out of his house, said the gunmen first fired a single
shot in the air which was followed by indiscriminate firing.
School teacher Karamit Singh, who was rounded up but managed to slip away before
the killing began, said he suspected there was something amiss from the start. "I felt
the whole thing was very odd. I told a few other people let's run away, but they said
it was the army and there was nothing to be scared about. Nothing scared right.
the gunmen were drinking liquor openly. One person who appeared to be commanding
them was shouting in Hindi, Punjabi and Kashmiri, telling them to round up all the
men but leave women, children and the elderly alone.
The village head, Karan Singh, urged government to provide security to other
Sikhs in the village. "There should be a clear-cut policy from the government. If they
cannot provide us security we will migrate,"Karan Singh said.
In Jammu, some 15,000 Sikhs blocked road to protest the killings. Many shouted
slogans against the government for failing to protect the minoraties in Kashmir.