SRINAGAR: A protester died after being chased by police during a curfew in Kashmir's main city, left in turmoil by an Indian government move to tighten control over the restive region, a police official said Wednesday.

The death was confirmed by police after the government passed a presidential decree on Monday stripping the Muslim majority state of its longstanding semi-autonomous privileges.

Despite a paralysing curfew, imposed to head off unrest, sporadic protests have been reported by residents in the main city Srinagar.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that in one incident a youth being chased by police "jumped into the Jhelum river and died."

The incident happened in Srinagar's old town which has become a hotbed of anti-India protests during the three decade-long insurgency in Kashmir that has left tens of thousands dead.

A source told AFP that at least six people have been admitted to hospital in Srinagar with gunshot wounds and other injuries from protests.

Indian police insist that Kashmir, which is also claimed by Pakistan, has been mainly peaceful since the curfew was imposed at midnight Sunday. —AFP