Shopian shuts on 10th death anniversaries of Asiya, Neelofar

Srinagar: Normal life was on Thursday crippled due to a strike called by separatists to mark the tenth death anniversaries of Asiya and Neelofar in south Kashmir district of Shopian.
Shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the roads in Shopian though some private vehicles could be seen plying on few routes.
Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwiz Moulvi Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, had urged people living in Shopian to observe a complete shutdown on the death anniversaries of Asiya and her sister -in-law Neelofar.
Massive protests erupted in 2009 as people alleged that Asiya and Neelofar were allegedly raped and murdered by security forces in Shopian. Bodies of the duo were recovered from a local stream. Following protests, the case, which was being investigated by Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Jammu and Kashmir police, was handed over to CBI.
The investigating agency, in its report, while ruling out the possibility of rape, had termed drowning as the cause of their death. But, locals rejected the CBI reports, alleging that the case was hushed up to save the culprits.