Conflict

‘He was killed in cold blood’: Family members accuse armed forces of killing civilian

Disturbing images of the child sitting on top of his grandfather’s dead-body go viral.

Police deny the claim, say civilian was killed in firing by the militants.

Srinagar Refuting that Bashir Ahmed, the civilian killed this morning in Baramulla’s Sopore was killed by militants, the family members have said that he was brought down from the vehicle and killed “in cold blood” by the CRPF troopers.

While speaking to journalists at their home in HMT Srinagar, the son of the deceased civilian claimed that his father left home at 06:00 in the morning for Sopore. But soon “after the attack, he was brought down from his vehicle and killed in front of his 3-year-old grandson”.

The deceased’s daughter told reporters that her mother was sick and he was also scheduled to bring her from Sopore to Srinagar, so that she can get better care.

She said once her father reached on the spot where the incident had taken place, he was dragged down from the vehicle and killed in a “cold blooded murder”.

“My father was a small time worker earning meagre wages, why was he killed and what was his fault,” the slain’s daughter told reporters.

Pictures of the deceased’s grandson, sitting on his dead body has created anger. After the police shared pictures and videos of the child saying that the police rescued him, the move was widely criticised.

Reacting to the incident, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference Vice President, Omar Abdullah said that everything becomes a propaganda tool in the “bloody violence” in Kashmir as the three year old boy was filmed and shared on social media.

Expressing discontent on his widely followed Twitter handle, Omar wrote; “everything becomes a propaganda tool in the bloody violence in Kashmir. A three year old toddler has to have his misery broadcast to the whole world to drive home the “we good they bad” message. We would have got the point without his misery being filmed & shared so please don’t.”

“We would have expected no less from the men in uniform than to rescue the young boy & for that they have our gratitude but we would expect better than for them to film & use a three year old’s pain the way it’s being done today,” Omar added in a same thread.

On Wednesday morning, a civilian and a paramilitary trooper were killed and three other paramilitary personnel sustained injuries after militants attacked a CRPF party at Model town of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh has said, “we lost one CRPF personnel and one civilian. The CRPF personnel injured (are being) evacuating to 92 base hospital.”

The CRPF spokesperson had said that today at around 07:30 hours Golf Company of 179 Battalion CRPF reached Model Town Chowk of North Kashmir’s Sopore for Naka/patrolling duties.

“As the troops were alighting from the vehicles to occupy their respective spots of deployment, militants hiding in the attic of a nearby mosque started firing indiscriminately on the troops, resulting in injuries to 4 CRPF personnel.”

These included Constable Bhoya Rajesh, Head Constable Deep Chand Verma, Constable Deepak Patil and Constable Nilesh Patil. Head Constable Deep Patil succumbed to his injuries.

The CRPF had said that one civilian had “died on spot in the militant attack”.

After the family has alleged that he was brought down from the vehicle and killed, Sopore Police denied the allegations.

SSP Sopore Javid Iqbal said the civilian was killed in firing by the militants. “Police also rescued his 3-year-old grandson,” he said.

However, the police attributed the allegation as “news surfaced on some social networking sites”, not as an allegation of the family, and said action will be taken against “false reports”.

“The news surfaced on some social networking sites that the civilian was brought down and killed is totally baseless and is far beyond the facts. Sopore Police refutes and denies the news and legal action shall be initiated against the false reports and rumours,” the police said.

With disturbing images of the child sitting on top of his grandfather’s dead-body, and the family’s allegations, the news has created uproar.

Quoting eyewitnesses, Bashir Ahmed’s son told reporters that child who was accompanying his grandfather “was terrified after troopers shot him dead”.

 

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