- Death Toll mounts to 92, with another youth succumbing to injuries, Thousands attend funeral
- Imam, who drew huge crowds for pro-freedom sloganeering, arrested in South Kashmir
- 3 girls hit by pellets in forces firing in Pattan
- Clashes at many areas, many injured
- Life remains crippled for 85th day
- 51 stone-pelters arrested in 24 hours: Police
A 22-year-old youth from Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, who was hit by pellets last month, succumbed at SK Institute of Medical Sciences at Soura Srinagar on Saturday, taking the death toll in the ongoing uprising to 92, even as Kashmir continued to remain shut for the 85th consecutive day. The slain youth was identified as Muhammad Muzafar Pandit son of Muhammad Ramzan of Check Kawoosa area of Budgam district. He had sustained pellet injuries on September 15 during clashes that broke out in Kawoosa village after forces allegedly barged into the area and resorted to indiscriminate pellet and teargas shelling, injuring dozens of protesters.
“Muzafar received grave pellet injures in his left eye and was first rushed SDH Magam where-from he was referred to SKIMS Medical College hospital Bemina (JVC) and then to SMHS hospital from there,” said Shaheena, the sister of slain youth.
“My brother underwent two surgeries and was discharged on September 30. Unfortunately his condition deteriorated last night and we removed him to SKIMS Soura today where he breathed his last at 10 am,” she said.
Medical Superintendent of SKIMS, Syed Amin Tabish, said they received Muzaffar in a critical condition. “We tried to save him but he expired within 90 minutes after reaching the hospital. He had developed septicaemia (severe infection),” he said.
Muzaffar was eldest in the family and is survived by his parents, a brother and two sisters. “He was the backbone of our family and taking care of his elderly parents and other family members,” said his neighbours. “He was returning from Zuhar prayers when the clashes broke out in the village. It was third Eid-ul-Adha day when entire village was shell-shocked due to the sudden crackdown and raids by the forces.”
The body of Muzaffar was brought to his native village in the afternoon and thousands of people participated in his funeral prayers amid pro-freedom sloganeering. Hundreds of women also walked with the funeral procession amid wails and beating chests. Muzaffar was later laid to rest at martyrs’ graveyard at Chek Kawoosa. With the death of Muzaffar, Budgam district has seen eight killings in the ongoing uprising. At least 256 people have been injured in the district so far of which 28 sustained bullet injuries and were treated at various hospitals. 166 people sustained pellet injuries in the district and among them 28 received pellets within or around their eyes (till September 30), sources said. Besides, 88 people with grave injuries including multiple pellet victims were referred to Srinagar hospitals for specialized treatment. At least three persons mostly teenagers who sustained pellets in eyes in the initial days of uprising at Adina Magam had to rush to different hospitals of Amritsar Punjab as they couldn’t be treated at Kashmir hospitals.
Srinagar
Reports said evening clashes erupted at many old Srinagar areas that include Nawa Kadal, Khanyar, Saraf Kadal, Nowhatta and Gojwara. Reports said massive protests were held in Habbak where youth were stopping movement of vehicles. Police fired dozens of teargas shells to disperse protestors. A group of residents of Brein, Nishat alleged that a local police officer has wreaked havoc by resorting to beating of every individual, irrespective of his age. “On his directions, police damaged dozens of residential houses in the area. He orders night raids and it’s due to fear that nobody sleeps in Brein area,” they said.
Late evening reports said a pro-freedom protest was held at Hyderpora’s Jamia Masjid. Reports said protests were held at Nowgam, Lasjan and Soiteng areas of uptown while mild clashes were going on in Batamaloo.
North Kashmir
Baramulla police foiled a pro-freedom protest march this evening in Old Town. According to reports, soon after joint evening prayers were offered at Mohalla Qazihamam this evening, a group of youth took out a pro-freedom march, but police lobbed scores of teargas shells towards the protesting youths, and later raided the area, triggering clashes which continued for some time. Meanwhile, panic gripped Delina, Baramulla this afternoon after a group of students, while staging a protest against the scheduled JK Board examination, was intercepted by police. The police, according to locals, lobbed scores of teargas shells in a bid to prevent students from staging the protest on the main highway, triggering panic among the students. Locals alleged that an Imam of a local Jamia Masjid was thrashed by police without any provocation. Meanwhile, Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) vehemently condemned slapping of Public Safety Act on its leader Muhammad Shaban Dar of Mazbugh, Sopore and five others and termed it as a grave violation of human rights.
Reports from Bandipora said a youth was critically injured when he was beaten to pulp by Army in Kaloosa area late last night. Locals alleged that Mohsin Ahmad Lone, a student of 8th class, son of Fayaz Ahmad Lone of Onagam was beaten to pulp by Army’s 27 unit stationed in Kaloosa. They said Mohsin suffered grievous injuries in his head and was later shifted to SDH Bandipora where from he was shifted to SKIMS Soura. Doctors who attended to him at SDH Bandipora said that he had suffered head injuries due to beating and was referred to SKIMS in a critical condition.
South Kashmir
Police arrested a religious cleric, Sarjan Ahmad Wagay (Barkati) in Wanpoh area of Anantnag district on Friday. He was on the run. Barkati, a resident of Reban-Yaripora was arrested by police from Wanpoh. He had attracted a lot of attention with his unique rhythmic resistance sloganeering during pro-freedom-cum-unity conferences of various sects held during the ongoing uprising in Kulgam district. Barkati’s slogans had gone viral on social networking sites and were widely shared by the netizens.
Reports said clashes broke out in Tahab area of Pulwama late in the evening where forces fired dozens of teargas shells at the protestors.
Central Kashmir
A group of youth blocked Ganderbal-Buchpora old road for hours to demand release of local youth arrested by police. Locals at Pandach said four youth identified as Irfan Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Rafiq Ganai, Arif Ahmad Dar and Muhammad Maqbool Ganai were detained by police after clashes broke out in the area last evening. The residents of Mehripora and Khojmohalla in Manigam town and Pethpora-Pandachh alleged that forces smashed windowpanes of residential houses of their localities.
Police arrest ‘Pied Piper’ of Kashmir
Moulana Sarjan Barkati who earned several sobriquets including ‘Freedom Chacha’ and ‘Pied Piper of Kashmir’ from local population after his videos chanting pro-Kashmir freedom slogans went viral was arrested by Jammu Kashmir Police at Wanpoh while he was on way to Arwani Bijbehara in South Kashmir, local news gathering agency CNS said. Barkati is a popular Muslim cleric from South Kashmir’s Shopian district and a senior leader of Ummat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Mirwaiz Qazi Yasir.
Sources told news agency CNS that shortly after his arrest, Barkati was booked under draconian Public Safety Act (PSA). Barkati was instrumental in organizing public rallies across South Kashmir in the on-going civilian uprising. He popularized “new forms of anti-India sloganeering” that went viral across Kashmir. Since his peculiar way of sloganeering, he is popular among youth as “Freedom Chacha” and ‘Pied Piper of Kashmir’.
In his recent interview with a national Daily, Barkati revealed that he adores Syed Ali Geelani for his “steadfastness” and the only desire of his life “is to see Kashmir as a free country.”
“Police had been conducting raids on Barkati’s house in Shopian. The police have also ceased his property and threatened the inmates including his six year old son, Azaan Barkati,” Ummat-e-Islami in a statement said.
Meanwhile, the incarcerated Chairman of Ummat e Islami Mirwaiz Qazi Yasir has strongly condemned his arrest.
A spokesman quoted Mirwaiz Yasir saying: “The ongoing rant of war in India is only to divert attention from the grave human rights violations and the ongoing civilian uprising in Kashmir that has made state government to resort to such tactics like mass arrest of people and slapping draconian Public Safety Act on them.”
“Barkati has been a popular voice of Ummat e Islami in Kashmir and arresting him and many others will not make people to stop from demanding their right to self determination,” Mirwaiz Yasir was quoted in the statement as saying.
Mirwaiz Yasir also condemned the “systematic violence against Kashmiris” and said that after pellet guns “Kashmiris are being harassed with PSAs and mass arrests.”
He paid rich tributes to Muzaffar Ahmed, a youth from Budgam, who succumbed to his injuries today after he was hit be pellets before Eid.
Police Version
According to a statement issued by the Zonal Police Headquarters Kashmir, the situation across Kashmir remained by and large peaceful today. “There was no curfew in any part of the valley,” it said. According to the statement during the day no untoward incident was reported from any part of the valley. “There was greater movement of people and vehicular traffic observed in Srinagar city as also in other parts of the valley,” it said. The statement said “to curb the activities of trouble-mongers police arrested 51 such individuals involved in various offences of creating disturbances in different part of the valley.”
