Protestors clashed with security personnel near Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s hometown of Tral on Saturday, reported PTI. The day marks the first anniversary of Wani’s killing by Indian security forces, which had led to months of unrest in the Kashmir valley.

Witnesses claimed that clashes broke out when protestors were blocked from reaching Burhan Wani’s family home, reported AFP. Police fired tear gas shells when protestors threw stones at them.

Curfew was imposed in Tral on Saturday, in Pulwama district, as a precautionary measure to maintain peace in the valley, a senior police official said. Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in large numbers across Kashmir.

The official said that curfew has also been imposed in Shopian town of South Kashmir and Trehgam in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

The two Hurriyat Conference factions, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and the Yasin Malik-led Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, have asked people to march to Tral to pay tributes to Wani.

The Hizbul Mujahideen is believed to have spread the word across the South Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian that it will carry out a recruitment drive in Wani’s village on Saturday.

Meanwhile, all examinations in the valley have been postponed. Shops and business establishments remained closed while vehicles remained off the roads.

Burhan Wani’s father, Muzaffar Ahmad Wani said that he did not want any untoward incident in the Valley. He appealed to all to maintain peace and harmony.

But he also added that there was a large security presence near his home. “There were so many soldiers outside I could not go out. I could not visit my son’s grave today.”

The Amarnath yatra has also been suspended from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu in view of the prevailing situation. The yatra, however, continued from Pahalgam and Baltal base camps in Kashmir.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called a high-level meeting to review the security situation in the Valley, reported India Today.