SRINAGAR (India) - PROTESTERS in Indian Kashmir set fire to a police van and stoned other security vehicles on Wednesday after the body of a missing young man was recovered in the regional capital Srinagar.

Residents alleged that Asrar Mushtaq had 'disappeared' while in police custody. Police denied having detained the 20-year-old, who went missing last week.

After his body was found, angry protesters poured onto the streets of Srinagar and attacked vehicles belonging to the security forces. Police used tear gas to try to disperse the crowds.

'In the ensuing clashes 42 protesters and eight policemen were hurt,' a police officer said, asking not to be named.

Security forces imposed a security clampdown in sensitive parts of the city, as major business centres closed down.

Hundreds of angry Kashmiris later joined the funeral of Mushtaq, chanting 'blood for blood' and 'we want freedom.' After the burial, protesters smashed windows at a bank and a restaurant and attacked police positions. And police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of students in the region's main university in Srinagar who were mourning the death, witnesses said.

The Muslim-majority Kashmir valley has witnessed a series of protests since the deaths last month of two young women who, local residents claim, were raped and murdered by members of the Indian security forces. Police say they are still investigating the murders.

Last week the alleged harassment of a woman by police in Baramulla sparked more angry demonstrations that have so far left four protesters dead.

Anti-India sentiments run deep in the Kashmir valley, where the majority of residents want independence for the Himalayan region.

Kashmir is in the grip of a nearly 20-year insurgency that has left more than 47,000 people dead by official count. -- AFP