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| Thousands join 15-year-old student’s funeral in Srinagar | | Separatists call for shutdown today; Govt assailed on HR abuse by Police | | AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
SRINAGAR, Feb 1: Shouting pro-Azadi, pro-Islam and anti-India slogans, thousands of people in downtown Srinagar today participated in the funeral of a 15-year-old student who had died in tearsmoke shelling of Police on a group of stone-pelting youth in Rajouri Kadal area here last evening. While mainstream politicians like Hakeem Mohammad Yasin and Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami alleged that civilian killings by Police were now increasing fast in Omar Abdullah government, most of the separatist organizations have called for a total shutdown in Kashmir against the young student’s death on Tuesday.
Notwithstanding considerable tension over the death of an unidentified youth in tearsmoke shelling by Police last evening, traffic operated in several downtown localities and several shops were seen open for business. However, as soon as the teenager was identified and his body was carried from Police Control Room to Rainawari area, there was near-total shutdown in a vast area.
The teenager, who had succumbed to injuries at SKIMS last evening after getting hit in his head during tearsmoke shelling from Police, was identified as 15-year-old Wamiq Farooq Wani S/o Farooq Ahmed Wani R/o Chhan Mohalla, Rainawari. Son of a poor street vendor and younger brother to a class 11th and class 10th male student, Wamiq Farooq was a Class 8th student of Government Hari Sigh High School Rainawari.
Officials maintained that an ASI had been placed under suspension, on the basis of a preliminary report, for not observing Standard Operational Procedure (SOP). They said it was being investigated whether the boy was simply a student who got hit accidentally or that he was one among the 100-odd stone pelting youth who had attacked the Police party. They said it was also being investigated whether the Police party could have avoided the fatal casualty and succeeded in scaring away the youth by any other method of soft retaliation.
Even as the number of the people who participated in the youth’s Namaaz-e-Janazah at Rainawari and later at Jamia Masjid was not thick, nearly 3,000 people joined the funeral procession when the body was being carried for burial from Jamia Masjid to Mazaar-e-Shuhada at Iddgah Grounds. A number of separatist leaders, including JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik, attended the funeral prayers at Jamia Masjid. In their speeches later, separatist leaders paid rich tributes to the teenager and alleged that human rights abuse and civilian killings by Police were spiraling up in the 13-month-old Omar Abdullah government. They alleged that Police and security forces had been harassing and targeting innocent civilians with impunity.
While returning from the funeral at Iddgah, groups of masked youngsters resorted to heavy stone pelting on Police and a number of CRPF camps on Nallah Mar Road. They spread to over a dozen spots in the congested downtown and engaged Police and paramilitary forces in ding dong clashes. As usual, the unruly groups of youth shouted pro-Azadi, pro-Islam, pro-Pakistan and anti-India, anti-Government, anti-Police slogans. They pelted stones and brickbats on Police. In retaliation, Police and CRPF fired tearsmoke canisters.
While independent but unconfirmed reports put the number of the injured in today’s clashes in Srinagar at 50 to 60, officials maintained that 9 Police personnel, 6 CRPF men and 15 demonstrators had sustained injuries. Those wounded in today’s clashes with the demonstrators included SHO Nowhatta, Sub Inspector Raja Tasleem and a Sikh constable of SP North’s special column who lost three teeth of his jaw on spot and later received 27 stitches at SMHS Hospital. A number of 12-year-old boys were seen today in the front rows of the stone pelting youth. They formed a human shield against the Police action.
Reports said that at least four photojournalists and reports working with different news agencies and cable TV channels were among the civilians injured in gtoday’s clashes.
Both factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani respectively, called for total shutdown in Kashmir on Tuesday against Wamiq Farooq’s death in Police action. A number of other separatist leaders and organizations supported the call.
Even the mainstream political leaders like CPI(M) State Secretary, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, and PDF Chairman, Hakeem Mohammad Yasin, alleged in their separate statements that human rights abuse by Police and security forces was “increasing fast” in the 13-month-old Omar Abdullah-led coalition government. Minister of Agriculture and Chairman of J&K Democratic Party (Nationalist), GHulam Hassan Mir, stressed on strict observance of law in tackling the unarmed demonstrations.
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