The death of an 18-year-old youth, who was allegedly shot and killed by a Central Reserve Police Force trooper on Wednesday night, sparked massive protests in southern Kashmir's Gabarpora village on Thursday. 
 
Villagers alleged that the youth, identified as Bilal Ahmad Bhat, had been killed by the CRPF trooper without any provocation. However, CRPF officials said that the trooper had a heated verbal exchange with a group of youths from the village on Wednesday night.

Hundreds of villagers held massive protests in Gabarpora village on Thursday. Senior police officials as well as government and CRPF officials, including the Pulwama district magistrate, visited the area on Thursday.

The CRPF trooper, identified as Ganjan Kumar from the 166 battalion, has been taken into custody after an FIR was lodged against him in Pulwama police station, a senior CRPF official told rediff.com.

The body of the slain youth has been handed over to his relatives for burial.

Meanwhile, two militants were killed while they were trying to cross the LOC at in Balakote sector near Baryana Gali in Poonch district on Thursday.

"The intruding militants were challenged by the Army and the militants opened fire at the surrounding troopers. After a long gunfight between the two sides, both militants were killed," said a senior police official.

Two militants were killed by the security forces in the hilly Doda district of Jammu region on Wednesday while two more militants were gunned down in Rajouri district of the same region at Khawari Badal. "One soldier also died in the Rajouri encounter," said a police spokesman.

In another incident, security forces, acting on a tip-off about the movement of militants in Ramban district, killed two of them in an ambush.