Srinagar: Partial shutdown was observed in many parts of the Srinagar city especially in the Maisuma area in Lalchowk to mark the 31st anniversary of Gawkadal Massacre. Most of the business establishments and shops were closed in Lal Chowk area.
On January 21, 1990, more than 52 civilians were killed and more than 200 were injured, when security forces opened fire on a procession passing over Gawkada Bridge in the Maisuma area of Lal Chowk. The massacre is named after the Gawkadal Bridge in Srinagar, Kashmir.
The incident that shook the valley ends in evoking protest against the then governor Jagmohan Malhotra regime.
While the official figures say only 22 people were killed in the incident, unofficial accounts say that around 52 civilians were killed.
The people were raising slogans against the Indian government and were demanding the demilitarization of troops and paramilitary forces from Kashmir.
The deployed forces in the curfewed area restored to indiscriminate firing that killed 52 civilians (according to unofficial estimate).
