By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir, India, (AA): Indian armed forces on Saturday killed three suspected militants in a gun battle in Chattabal area, on the outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Meanwhile a protester was mowed down by Indian police vehicle in Srinagar.

Adil Ahmad Yadoo of Safa Kadal was injured critically after a police wanton vehicle ran over him near Cement Kadal.
Adil was declared brought dead on arrival by the doctors at SMHS.

Police forcibly seized his body from the hospital and took it to the Control Room while around the same time, a police spokesman claimed that “medical bulletin suggests that the person died due to a crush injury in a road traffic accident at Noorbagh. Citizens may not pay heed to rumours.”

However, soon after, a video capturing the entire incident went viral on social media debunking the police’s claim.

The video shot by an unknown witness shows a police bunker vehicle crushing the stone-throwing youth to death during clashes at Noorbagh area of Srinagar.

Police, later, issued another statement: “Police has taken the cognizance of the Chattabal incident. Police has registered the case at Noor Bagh, Police station under the relevant provisions of the law against the driver of the Police vehicle.”

Yadoo, as per his family, was the sole bread earner among them. He, as usual, had left home to attend his work at Noor Bagh.

“He was working in a bag manufacturing unit. He was the only source of income in the family. His siblings are not earning anything,” said Adil’s cousin, Noor Mohammad, who was waiting for Adil body at Police Control Room (PCR) here.
Noor said that Adil’s family was poor and lived in miserable conditions.

“They have been living in a shed. Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) came thrice to dismantle it. His father Ghulam Mohammad Yadoo, in his 70s has been confined to his home for a long time,” he said.

Adil, besides his old parents, is survived by three brothers and a sister.

The gunbattle broke out on Saturday morning after the Indian forces launched a search operation in the area, where mobile phone internet services have also been suspended, locals said.

“The bodies of all the three militants have been retrieved. One is a local from Srinagar while the identities of two are being ascertained,” police spokesperson Manoj Pandita told Anadolu Agency.

Protests erupted in the area soon after the gunbattle started, with the protesters hoping to give the trapped militants a chance to escape.

However, the police described the incident as a road accident and said that they have filed a report in this regard.

“How a murder was committed by the forces today and then brazenly denied. Is there no sense of humanity left in India?” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of Hurriyat (M), posted on his Twitter account along with the alleged video of the incident.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mirwaiz said he was put under house arrest on Friday while Yasin Malik, head of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, was arrested as they were expected to hold a joint news conference on Saturday.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars — in 1948, 1965 and 1971 — since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.

Additional report from Kashmir Monitor

[Photo: Adil Ahmad Yadoo of Safa Kadal being mowed down by Indian police. Photo captured on video. Photo courtesy Kashmir Monitor]