Now,Baramulla on the boil

Akther then made an appearance at Baramulla’s main chowk in the evening,accusing the police of demanding money and seeking sexual favors in lieu of releasing her husband. The accusations triggered a protest,with angry youth forcing shopkeepers to down their shutters. Clashes with the police continued till midnight,even as the district administration tried to roll back the damage by clarifying that Hasina was the sister of the alleged kidnapper and airing an interview in which the father of the kidnapped girl stated the same. Later that night,the police recovered the kidnapped girl from Bemina,Srinagar,along with Mehraj-ud-din Marazi. The police claims that the girl was found after Hasina’s husband identified her.

This,however,did not defuse the tension. The next morning,when shopkeepers started to open their shutters,a group of young men appeared on the roads,started pelting stones at retailers,and even smashed the windowpanes of some private vehicles. As the protestors reached the main square of the town,they again clashed with the police and CRPF personnel.

However,eyewitnesses accuse the police and CRPF of using excessive force. “Within no time,the police and CRPF men opened fire on a mob killing,19-year-old Saleem Wani on the spot and seriously injuring another 17-year-old boy Amir Rashid,” said eyewitness Shabir Ahmad. “This could have been easily avoided by using tear gas shells,” he added.

The death of Saleem Wani,an orphan,has sparked massive protests throughout the town. “For us,Saleem bhaiya was like a father and a mother as well. But cruel policemen snatched him from us,” cried his younger brother Aslam Rashid,who stopped his education due to poverty. Orphaned at a young age,Saleem was looking after his two siblings,Aslam and Masaarat. “Five years ago,when we were very young,the Almighty took away our mother from us. Two years later,our father too died a natural death. It was our elder brother who sacrificed his youth to give us the comforts of life. Now,who will take care of us?” he asked.

Saleem was enrolled at a local Higher Secondary School,but his priority was to earn for his family. He worked as a revenue collector with a local cable network and used to earn Rs 2,000 to 3,000 per month. Since Monday afternoon,his home at Mir Sahib locality is milling with people. “My brother was not a militant and nor was he was responsible for any crime. Then why was he killed?” wailed his sister Masaarat.

Two kilometres away from Saleem’s house,another family is grieving the death of their son Amir Rashid,who succumbed today to a bullet wound sustained on Monday. In nearby Drangal,another family lost their son on Monday when police and CRPF opened fire on a mob at the main market.

Ironically,within hours of the administration ordering a magisterial inquiry into the police firing and holding a meeting of members of civil society,religious organisations and local leaders,including two ministers of the coalition government to voice concerns against such incidents,the CRPF again opened fire on a small protest demonstration at Khanpora. Fayaz Ahmad Gujri,26,died on the spot. “When Gujri was shot,CRPF men did not allow us to take him to the hospital,resulting in his death,” alleged Mushtaq Ahmad,Gujri’s neighbour. Gujri,too,was the only breadwinner for his aging parents and young wife. “This has shattered his parents,his old mother was hospitalised after she heard about his death,” added Ahmad.

After the incident,CRPF battalions were withdrawn from the town and a murder case registered against the personnel involved. However,it failed to cool tempers. “How can the police and CRPF justify the killing of four youths in Baramulla?” said Abdul Rehman Shallah,president of the Auqaf Committee. “There are many ways to control mobs. Unfortunately in Baramulla town,trigger-happy police and CRPF men only know how to fire bullets on small mobs,” he said. “This is the only place in the world where they are not accountable to anybody,” he added.

The police,meanwhile,blame some people with vested interests. “There are some who are always looking for a reason to provoke people. It’s unfortunate that people get provoked on the false allegation of a woman whose brother had kidnapped a minor girl,” Deputy IGP,Baramulla Farooq Khan said.

While the death toll has reached four,there are many others battling for their lives. “We have received 26 injured persons since Monday and ten had bullet injuries,” said Dr Mohammad Shafi Saraf,District Medical Superintendent,Baramulla Hospital.