Shutdown in Indian Kashmir after death of man in custody

Reuters - Separatists in Indian Kashmir called for a complete shutdown on Wednesday (March 20) against the alleged custodial killing of a youth. Offices and educational institutes remained closed and shops were shut while the streets of Srinagar, the summer capital of the province, bore a deserted look. The alleged victim, Rizwan Asad Pandit, a chemistry graduate who taught at a private school, according to his family, was arrested on the suspicion him of being a part of a "terror case investigation". He came from a family with links to the Kashmir-based Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). The Indian government recently banned the group and accused it of having links with militant organisations. Indian forces have arrested hundreds of JeI members since a Feb. 14 suicide bomb attack that killed 40 police personnel and was claimed by Pakistan-based militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad. JeI denies it is linked to militants.