Sixteen-year old teen of Shalimar area, Qaiser Ahmad Sofi, who was on ventilator, succumbed last night here at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura, triggering massive protests in Eidgah and adjoining areas in Old City amid complete shutdown and curfew.According to reports, family of Sofi said that he was found in an unconscious state a day after he went missing on October 27 last month. He was admitted at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar where he breathed his last at around 10 pm last night.The slain boy’s family and his relatives alleged that he was poisoned and tortured by Indian security forces at Shalimar area of Srinagar outskirts. But a police officer denied the allegation and said the teen died after consuming poison himself. A police spokesman in this regard issued a statement and said police are investigating the matter.The statement read: “A 17 years old Qaiser Hamid son of Abdul Hamid resident of Doodh Mohalla was reportedly missing from 27th October-2016 from his house. On the next day his father received a call from a person who identified himself as a private guard working at the CIE complex, Shalimar stating that his son is lying near the CIE complex with some froth oozing from his mouth.
“On this information, a Police party of police station Nishat along with the relatives of the deceased rushed to the spot and shifted him to SKIMS hospital for treatment. The doctors at SKIMS performed his stomach wash and sample was set to FSL for analysis to ascertain the nature of the poisonous substance he had consumed. As per the doctors the patient had a history of GTCS (epilepsy). Subsequently the boy succumbed yesterday evening.”As soon as the news of Junaid’s death spread in Ganderpora area of Safa Kadal, his native locality, and adjoining areas, hundreds of youths and women, soon after offering Fajr prayers, assembled at his ancestral home and staged massive pro-independence and anti-India slogans. The body of Qaiser draped in a green flag was taken in a massive demonstration towards Eidgah martyrs’ graveyard for funeral amid massive sloganeering but the mourners were intercepted by police near Eidgah ground.Witnesses including photojournalists said police and CRPF men resorted to massive teargas shelling on mourners carrying body of Qaiser. “The teargas shells were raining like anything on mourners and on those who were carrying body of Junaid. Police also used pellets on youths who responded by pelting stones,” they said, adding that amid police action, the mourners managed to reach Eidgah ground where funeral of Qaiser was offered and he was buried in martyrs’ cemetery.
According to witnesses, soon after burial of Qaiser, hundreds of youths took to streets at Eidgah, Ganderpora and Sekidaffar and clashed with government forces. The clashes continued intermittently throughout the day in which around 40 protesters sustained injuries. The police statement said that after the burial of Qaiser, a mob of miscreants pelted stones upon forces including police deployment near Eidgah in which some police/security personnel were injured.“While dealing with the situation some persons who were part of the stone pelting mob also got injured. They were shifted to hospital where their condition is said to stable till filing of this report,” the police spokesman said in the statement.In the wake of teen’s death, authorities strictly imposed restrictions in few areas of Old City in morning hours. Elsewhere in five police stations of Srinagar including MR Gunj, Safa Kadal, Khanyar, Rainawari and Nowhatta, the deployment of forces continued but there was no curfew. The day overall passed off peacefully and there was no major incident of violence.
Elsewhere, a complete shutdown was observed in all city areas including Lal Chowk. All the shops, educational institutes, petrol pumps were shut while public transport was complete off the roads. The private transport was however was plying smoothly in civil lines areas. Shops and other commercial establishments re-opened across the Srinagar after 4 pm according to relaxation announced by pro-freedom leadership and markets witnessed huge rush of people.The shutdown also continued in all other areas of Valley while clashes also erupted in the day and evening hours. The police spokesman in his statement added that in order to prevent any possible untoward incident disrupting normal life, an adequate security deployments were made in some vulnerable points of some towns and also in Srinagar city. “Situation across the valley remained peaceful and under control although a stone pelting incident was reported from Eidgah,” he said.(GNS)