Srinagar: Budgam youth, who was killed in paramilitary CRPF firing near a security forces check point in the district on Wednesday morning was ferrying his uncle, a policeman by profession, to his place of posting in Srinagar.
Shah 22, had left his home around 9.30 AM, to drop his uncle Ghulam Hassan Shah, a police head constable, his family sources said.
“His uncle has also been injured but we are still not sure whether he received a bullet injury or he was injured under the impact of car which almost overturned after Mehrajudin was hit by bullets and lost control over the vehicle,” a next door neighbour and relative, told Curtain Raiser.
“It appears to us Shah applied brakes, when CRPF men signalled him to stop but the car did not stop instantly. Also, his uncle seated next to him would have certainly advised him to stop but sadly almost a brake failure or delayed application of brake prompted forces personnel to open fire,” he added.
Slain Shah’s elder brother Shabir Ahmad Shah, is also serving in police. Shah was youngest among four brothers and had two sisters.
Son of a retired low rung power official, slain was running a Khidmat center, at Kanihama Jammu and Kashmir bank branch, for past two years, to support his family.
The locals of his native village Makama contested police claims that slain jumped two nakas (check points) before falling to security forces’ bullets.
“He was an ordinary but law abiding citizen, who has his brother and uncle serving in police. How can you expect him to avoid security forces check points and that too, when he was carrying uncle with him,” said a relative.
Mourning the death of young boy, locals demanded a probe into the incident and punishment under law to security forces’ personnel involved in firing.
‘Ignored warning shots’
Police said the slain jumped two check points and ignored warning shots, prompting forces personnel to open fire. The police statement goes as under:
Today, at about 1020 hours a civil vehicle, Wagon R, registration no JK02AK 6702 broke a Check point of J&K police and sped and came across another Check point of CRPF, manned by troops of C/141 Bn CRPF and jumped this Check point as well.
A convoy of Army, at that point in time, was passing through the adjacent road and fearing a sabotage, the CRPF jawan of C/141, manning this Naka, fired warning shots.
“This civil car was driving in the wrong direction of the road and that was even more alarming. When the car didn’t stop, despite warning shots, the jawan fired at the car and in turn, the driver was hit on his left shoulder,” reads the hand out.
Subsequently, he was shifted to SHMS hospital, Srinagar, where, he was declared as brought dead by the doctors, it adds.