Indian-held Kashmir largely shut down Wednesday after Kashmiri leaders called a strike in protest at the killing of three men whose bullet-riddled bodies were discovered in an orchard two days earlier. Police say the deceased were local 'militants' who were killed due to rivalry between different factions in the conflict-stricken region, but Kashmiri leaders say they died in police custody.
Shops and schools were closed and university exams cancelled as workers went on strike Wednesday, while hundreds of police and paramilitary troops patrolled the main city and other major towns. Kashmiri leaders opposed to Indian rule were detained by police or confined to their homes to prevent them from leading demonstrations.