At least 12 people and four policemen were injured in fierce clashes that broke out in Srinagar's central area of Lal Chowk and neighbouring localities on Saturday afternoon, after the body of a 45-year-old civilian was found on the banks of river Jhelum.
The police said the body of Mohammad Maqbool Ganie was recovered from Gowkadal in the summer capital Srinagar on Saturday morning.
A senior police officer said a case of murder has been registered in the local police station and that investigations had begun.
As the news about the murder of Ganie, a mutton steak seller, spread in the area, angry men took to the streets shouting slogans against the murder and demanded the arrest of those responsible for crime.
As the security forces intervened to restore order in the highly sensitive areas around Lal Chowk, protestors indulged in heavy stone pelting.
The police, the paramilitary forces and the central reserve police force jawans responded by firing teargas shells and used batons to control the mob.
The clashes almost brought the city to a halt with shopkeepers downing shutters and people deserting the streets.
Security was later beefed up in the area.
The body was handed over to Ganie's relatives.
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