Srinagar, December 30, 2012 :,Curfew and strict restrictions were imposed in south town of Pulwama on the third consecutive day, today,( Sunday), after more than dozen civilians were critically injured by Indian government forces on Friday during protest demonstrations against the destroying of a residential house and atrocities committed by forces on people in Chandpora(Babgam) in Pulwama during operation. “Curfew is going on in Pulwama and it is continuing, ” a police spokesman told mediamen. Hundreds of Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Froce troopers and policemen, armed with sophisticated weapons and riot gear, were deployed in Pulwama town and the adjoining areas to enforce curfew for the third running day. The forces guarded the deserted streets, lanes and by lanes to foil any attempt of the people to come out of their houses and stage pro-freedom and anti-India demonstrations, reports said.
Indian troops on Friday killed two youth identified as Ahmed Teli resident of Pulwama and Mohammad Aamir Bhat resident of Shopian and claimed them militants in Chandpora(Babgam) village of district Pulwama .
There were violent protest demonstrations in Chandgam and Pulwama during and after the operation resulting in injuries to more than fifteen civilians. To curb the protests in the town, Indian armed paramiltary forces had resorted to firing as well adding to the tension. “The Curfew is still imposed very strictly and the people are not being allowed to move out of their homes,” a local said to media men.
Reports said that police and paramilitary forces wearing riot gears were deployed in strength in the entire town to strictly enforce the curfew. Due to the severe restrictions in the town and its adjoining villages, the movement of the people was restricted.
Reports said the forces had sealed all the entry and exit points by putting up barricades and erecting concertina wires and no vehicle was allowed to enter the town.
In the wake of strict curfew, people particularly students had to face severe hardships. “We were not allowed to venture out by the forces to even buy milk or bread,” said the residents of Murran area of the town. The indefinite curfew also caused inconvenience to students appearing in college examinations. Despite assurances by the district administration that the roll number slips will be considered as curfew passes, the troopers and cops refused to follow the orders of the civil administration, college students said. “We were held up by forces for at least 30 minutes. They didn’t listen to us. They even refused to entertain the roll number slips issued by the University. After repeated pleas, they allowed us to go,” a group of students said on Saturday 29 December.
They said that many residents were beaten to pulp by the forces for trying to venture out. “The forces did not even allow the patients to be ferried to the hospitals,” said one of the residents Firdous Ahmad. Though the District Magistrate had announced on Saturday that the roll no. slips of the students appearing in various exams will be treated as curfew passes, but most of the students said the forces did not adhere to the DM’s order. At some places, armoured vehicles were placed across the road to restrict the movement of people. Many residents told meida men that the paramilitary personnel and cops thrashed them when they ventured out of their houses to purchases essentials on Saturday morning. “We were not even allowed to purchase milk and bread. I pleaded before the forces, but they didn’t listen. First they fire on civilians and then put cage residents,” said Abdur Rashid, a resident of Murran.
“We had to appear in ongoing examinations of BA/BSC final year but had to face tremendous difficulty to reach the examination centers as the forces did not pay any heed to our pleas despite showing them the roll no. slips,” said a group of students.
The dreaded Special Operation Group (SOG) forces had fired on the protesters in Chandigam village who were marching towards the site of operation to get the bodies of the two youth gunned down by the Indian army forces earlier. However, according to the eyewitnesses they were confronted by police and paramilitary forces and as the protesters offered resistance they were fired at resulting in injuries to near a dozen of them. The forces after leaving the village, locals said, fired all around and two stray bullets hit a person at his home injuring him severely.
“Later, when the injured were being carried to district hospital Pulwama, the army personnel after being caught in a traffic jam in Pulwama town got infuriated and fired on the injured being ferried in a cab and their attendants injuring three more persons,” eyewitnesses said.
All the nine injured with bullet injuries were later referred to Soura Institute of Medical Sciences Sriangar, SMHS and Bone and Joint Hospital Srinagar and the condition of two of the injured according to doctors attending them is stated to be critical.
Class 10 student Suhail Ahmad was hit by two stray bullets at his native village and then again by one in the Indian Army firing in Pulwama town.
The firing triggered widespread protests in Pulwama on Friday as youth clashed with police and paramilitary forces at several places. Near a dozen persons including Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR), his PSO, driver and three others civilians were later injured in clashes. Several vehicles, including that of the ACR was damaged in the stone pelting and tear gas shelling following which curfew was imposed in the town and its adjoining villages.
Angry protesters also stoned the vehicle of Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR) Shopian, Parvaiz Sajad causing injuries to him. His personal security officer (PSO) Imtiyaz Ahmad and driver Gulzar Ahmad also suffered injuries, while the vehicle suffered heavy damage, eyewitness said. As the protests turned intense, the district administration announced time bound probe into the police firing on civilians and placed the town under indefinite curfew.
“In Delhi and other places in India violent protests are dealt by using water cannons and in Kashmir even the peaceful protesters are showered with bullets,” said a college student Imtiyaz Ahmad.
He said that the Indian Army even did not spare the injured who had earlier received bullet injuries and fired at them too. “In Delhi, protesters even resort to vandalism, heckle and kill cops but water cannons are used as last resort,” said another college student Mehak Wani.
“The forces who were manning every street of the township did not allow anybody to move out. Even elderly people were barred from going to mosques in their localities. It was the strictest curfew,” a resident, Manzoor Ahmad told media men.
Even the news paper hawkers were not allowed to distribute the papers. According to the locals, early morning on December 29 the authorities announced on loud speaker appealing people to remain inside as curfew was imposed in the town. A local newspaper hawker Mansoor Ahmad said that early morning that when they went to get their newspaper bundles from the vehicle, the deployed police and paramilitary forces stopped them and asked them to go back. “They said us there is no need to read newspapers today as the area is under curfew,” he said.
Meanwhile, locals showed anger over the imposition of curfew saying it added miseries to them in these harsh winters when it was raining and snowing. “We were not even able to move outside to buy essential commodities,” they said.
Though the locals said that the Indian Army of opening fire on them, 15 Corps spokesman Brijesh Pandey threw ball in the court of Police saying it was not army but police involved in the firing on protesters. “Army was not involved in any such kind of incident in firing bullets on protesters. Our whole attention was on the encounter between army and militants,” 15 Corps spokesman Brijesh Pandey told daily Srinagar based news paper Kashmir Monitor on phone.
The injured civilians, admitted at a hospital in Srinagar, had said they were fired at without provocation from an Indian Army vehicle.
Admitted in various hospitals, the injured civilians say “the firing was unprovoked and uncalled for”. The injured are writhing in pain at the SMHS hospital and Bone and Joint hospital in Srinagar where they were admitted on Friday immediately after injured by Indian forces bullets. Their relatives accuse the forces of resorting to indiscriminate firing.
Four members of a family are among the injured. One of them is a teenager. “Why did they shoot me? When they started firing indiscriminately I shouted along with my cousins. We were innocent but they didn’t listen to us and continued firing at us and left us in the pool of blood,” says the teen Younis Mir, who is a 7th class student.
Younis Mir has a foot injury and is presently admitted in Bone and Joint Hospital Barzulla in Srinagar. Doctors operating Mir say the bullet is still stuck in his foot. “He needs immediate surgery,” they say.
Another civilian Jehangir was also injured in the firing at Bubgam on Friday. “While were taking him (Jehangir) to the district hospital Pulwama for treatment , forces stopped our vehicle and fired on us indiscriminately,” says one of the attendants.
“Jehangir, who had already received at bullet, was shot again twice in the main market while three of us also received bullets,” his cousin cousin, Showkat Ahmed, said.
Ashiq is admitted at the SMHS hospital om Srinagar. He was not able to talk much as he was crying due to pain. “They are innocent; they were just taking their injured cousin to the hospital. He did not even go near to the encounter site but still they fired at him,” says one of his relatives, Ashiq Mir. Medicos attending Ashiq advised him not to talk much. ”The bullet has gone from his right thigh. He needs complete rest,” said a doctor.
Witnesses say forces went berserk at District Hospital Pulwama resulting in damage to property. They said that patients, attendants and staff at the DH Pulwama were beaten recklessly by forces.
The two young boys injured in forces firing in Pulwama district are recovering, sources at the Soura Institute of Medical Soura, said Saturday. Suhail Ahmad Malik, a 10th standard student who received bullet injury in head at Babgam village, is under observation at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after the doctors performed late night surgery upon him on Friday. Instantly after surgery he was put on life support system. However, on Saturday afternoon, the condition of patient showed considerable improvement, said a media employee to media men. “The injured boy is recovering. The ventilator has been removed, and he is breathing without life support system,” the hospital sources said to daily srinagar kashmir reader.
Another injured youth Imran was also recovering at Soura Institue’s Urology ward where he was admitted Friday night.
The two boys were among the nine people who sustained injuries Friday when Indian government forces opened fire on civilian protesters at two separate places in Pulwama district.
Suhail Ahmad Malik, the 9th class student of Pulwama, who was injured in the indiscriminate firing of Indian troops on peaceful civilians on Friday, has undergone the brain surgery at the Soura Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar.
A team of five doctors carried out the surgery. “It took the doctors more than four hours to carry out the surgery,” Deputy Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Riyaz Ahmad, told newsmen.
Suhail Ahmad is among the nine persons from Pulwama who were injured by troops’ firing and were admitted in different hospitals of Srinagar for treatment.
Dr Riyaz said that another injured, Nasir Ahmad, a class 12 student, who received a bullet in lower abdomen, was also recovering.
“A team of five doctors led by Neurosurgeon Dr Abdul Rashid carried out surgery in the class 9 student Suhail Ahmad Malik of Pulwama district’s head. It took the doctors more than four hours to carry out the surgery Friday evening,” Deputy Medical Superintendent of Soura Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Riyaz Ahmad told Srinagar based daily Greater Kashmir.
“Suhail is doing well now. We removed him from ventilator on Saturday,” Dr Riyaz said.
He said that another injured, Nasir Ahmad, a class 12th student who has received a bullet in lower abdomen, is also recovering.
Dr Riyaz said every effort was being made for better treatment of the injured. “We carry out regular checks of these injured persons,” he said and disclosed that Police Constable Imtiyaz Ahmad, who has received a bullet in his leg, is also recovering. “Hopefully the policeman would be discharged in the evening,” Dr Riyaz said.
Chief Medical Officer Bone & Joint Hospital Srinagar, Dr Manzoor Ahmad told media men that four injured were brought to the hospital. “One among them, Muhammad Yaseen was serious and was referred to SMHS on Saturday morning,” Dr Manzoor said adding that other three are stable. He said that one among the injured was operated Saturday afternoon.
Medical Superintendent SMHS Hospital, Dr Nazir Ahmad Choudhary said that four injured persons from Pulwama were brought to hospital. “Three among them have been discharged,” he said and added that one of injured who was referred from Bone &Joint Hospital is also recovering. “He is in ward 19 and is stable. He is recovering fast and there is nothing to worry about,” Dr Nazir said.
The people who survived Friday’s firing by forces at two separate places in Pulwama district of south Kashmir say that the Indian troopers fired upon them without any provocation.
“I was moving towards Babgam village when Indian troops lifted the siege in the area. Many people were walking towards the village. Suddenly, Indian armed forces loaded their rifles and started firing in all directions. Before I realized that a bullet had hit me, I saw a youth next to me falling on the road. My eyes went dark. I thought I’m dead,” Imran, a student, who is recapturing at Ward No. 3 of the Bone and Joint Surgery Hospital, Barzulla, told Kashmir Reader Saturday.
“We were not carrying stones or guns. We were caught by surprise when Indian paramilitary forces fired at us without any provocation. The claim of police that the ambulance carrying injured personnel was stoned is a lie,” Imran said.
He said the firing could have caused huge number of causalities had the youth not lifted the injured from the road and rushed them to the hospital on time.
Ashiq Ahmad, 17, admitted at the SMHS Hospital said he was carrying his brother Jehangir to the hospital when the forces opened fire on their cab, injuring him and two of his cousins.
“My brother was in the house when he was hit by a stray bullet. We lifted him in a cab. On reaching Shaheed Park, our driver overtook an army vehicle. This infuriated soldiers, who first deflated the tyres of our cab with a burst of gunfire and then pointed their guns at us and fired randomly, injuring me and my two cousins Gowhar and Showkat,” says Ashiq, who suffered bullet injuries in thigh.
In the firing, Ashiq said his injured brother Jehangir was again hit by two bullets, while sister Tasleema survived miraculously.
“The army men had murderous intentions. Before shooting us, they made sure to deflate the tyres so that the cab is left defunct,” he added.
Ashiq’s brother Jehangir is writhing in pain at the Barzulla hospital. Fear is writ large on his face. With both arms covered with bandage, he looks right and left for relief. Sitting next to him is his restless father Bashir Ahmad. His pale face conveys the trauma the family has gone through. “It was the worst nightmare of my life. I never had imagined seeing my sons in this condition. Allah has given a fresh lease of life to them,” Bashir said. “The wounds on my son’s body will heal but the mental scars of the firing will haunt us forever,” he added.
Meanwhile, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Pulwama, who is the inquiry officer to probe the firing incident in Pulwama, has asked the people to record their statements or file affidavits by January 5, 2013. An official handout said here, “ADM Pulwama who has been nominated as inquiry officer to probe into the firing incident at Rajpora Chowk, Pulwama has informed that any person/persons having any knowledge or information about the said incident can record their statements or file their affidavits before the inquiry officer by or before January 5, 2013, in his office chamber during working hours The Magisterial Inquiry was ordered Friday after 9 civilians were injured, four of them critically, when Indian army forces resorted to indiscriminate firing on protesters at two different places in Pulwama.
Deputy commissioner, Pulwama, Shafat Noor, said that the decision about relaxation in curfew will be taken after assessing the situation. “If people remain calm and situation remains peaceful there will be no need to impose curfew but if people again try to disrupt peace we will have to maintain the law and order. The decision about the curfew completely depends on how the people respond,” Shafat said.
The government has ordered a judicial probe, but the mood at the hospitals and in the town is of anger. The victims and their attendants have no hopes from the enquiry.
(report collected, edited and compiled by HR activist/journalist Raies Mir, www.sahrja.com)