Security forces fired tear gas and used batons to try to break up protests in Indian Kashmir today.
Their action came just hours after authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Muslim-majority areas of the volatile Himalayan region.
The curfew comes amid a weekend general strike in the region's main city and the largest protests against Indian rule in more than a decade, intensifying the turmoil that has plagued the region for almost two months.
Police drove through neighbourhoods in the mainly Muslim Kashmir Valley before dawn, announcing the curfew and warning residents to stay indoors. Thousands of security forces patrolled the deserted streets of Srinagar, the largest city.
Police warned that "stern action will be taken against violators" of the curfew.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Handwara, a town 100 kilometres north of Srinagar, to defy the curfew. The demonstrators chanted pro-independence slogans and alleged that government forces had desecrated the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
Security forces fired tear gas and used batons to stop the protesters. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
At least 10 journalists outside during the curfew were beaten by paramilitary soldiers and three of them were taken to hospital, said Farooq Khan, president of Kashmir Press Photographers Association.