Indian police and protesters clash in Kashmir following visit by Prime Minister Modi

SRINAGAR, India, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A demonstrator was killed Saturday during clashes between police and protesters in the capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, one day after a visit to the region by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Xinhua news agency quoted a police spokesman as saying the deceased individual, whose name was Gowhar Ahmad Dar, was killed after police opened fire and shot tear gas at a stone-throwing mob in the Zainakote area of Srinagar.

The area had been on lock-down during Modi's visit in order to prevent a counter-rally by separatist groups opposing Indian rule of the region.

Modi gave a speech at the highly-fortified Sher-i-Kashmir stadium, promising a $12 billion aid package that he hoped would "change the fate of Kashmir."

However, the BBC quoted Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of the region, as saying "Modi has made the same mistake of weighing the Kashmir issue in rupees."

Following Modi's departure, Srinagar swelled with protesters, whose numbers increased once news of Dar's killing spread.

India shares the Jammu and Kashmir region with neighboring Pakistan, though both sides claim it in full and have fought two wars exclusively over the territory.

Throughout the year, Indian and Pakistani military forces have blamed each other for initiating exchanges of fire across the Line of Control, a more than 400-mile long border that divides the region, but Indian troops have also battled Islamist militants in the area.

On Oct. 4, following a firefight in the region's Pulwama district, Indian security forces said they killed two militants with Jaish-e-Mohammad, or "Army of Mohammad," which is based out of Pakistan.