Eyewitness narrate tale of Bandipora killings
Mir TariqAloosa (Bandipora), Sep 04: Accusing the army personnel of killing four persons in Bandipora on August 13, an eyewitness, Abdul Hamid Dar said that the troopers did not even spare the injured persons and fired at them too.Dar received bullets on his leg, arm and back and is recuperating.Recalling the fateful day, Abdul Hamid Dar of Aloosa Bandipora told Rising Kashmir, “About 6000 people from Astangoo, Aloosa and Kehnusa gathered at Ashtangoo and marched peacefully towards Bandipora. When we reached near the Paribal camp, the police personnel intercepted us and resorted to tear gas shelling. We tried to convince them that ours is a peaceful march and we don’t want to resort to any kind of violence.”He said that army had placed barricades on the road and people tried to remove the roadblocks to move ahead. “As the roadblocks were being removed, 15 RR personnel deployed there shouted “Bam Bam Bole” and “Jai Mata di” and fired indiscriminately on the unarmed protestors. The bullets killed three protestors on spot while many others received bullet injuries”.Dar further said, “I was rescuing injured persons while police and army personnel were beating me. They along with few others threw me in the near by paddy land and again fired indiscriminately on us. I received bullets in arm, leg and back”.He said that wreathing in pain, they were crying for help. “I and two other injured youth were taken inside the camp by soldiers and we were beaten there. It seemed that they wanted to kill us and later label us as militants.”“An army officer in the camp while pointing to us told a civil officer that they are militants and tried to sneak into the headquarters. The officer showed the fabricated video on his mobile to the civil officer, who, however, told him that media, has been claiming that three protesters were killed and seven others injured in Aloosa. He convinced the army officer that the injured persons should be shifted to hospital. Only afterwards did the army officer allow three of us to be shifted to hospital in an ambulance”.Dar said that as they were being shifted to SMHS hospital, the CRPF personnel attacked the ambulance at Parimpora, Srinagar. “All the injured, doctors accompanying us and the driver were ruthlessly beaten by CRPF personnel for nearly an hour. Due to the CRPF action, one of the critically injured Mehraj-ud-Din died in the ambulance”.Terming it the tragic and unforgettable incident of his life, Dar said, “I consider myself lucky to be surviving and alive. Army and CRPF personnel did everything possible to eliminate me”.