SRINAGAR: Police said they have swiftly acted against the linchpins who attempted brutal murder of a young man, mistaken as a braid chopper. They have arrested 12 persons, so far.
“We are trying arrest of another 15 people who were part of the unruly crowd that wanted to set the man afire,” a senior police officer told Kashmir Life. “The arrests will continue.”
The man, who was rescued from the mob, is still critical in the SMHS, police said.
Police have registered an FIR No 302 of 217 under sections 149 and 307 RPC. “Entire basic investigation is over and now the accused will be interrogated,” the officer said. “We want to submit the challan before the court as early as possible.
Offering details of the incident, the police said that during midnight there were rumours of braid choppers arrival and suddenly so youth traced a boy sleeping in the local mosque of Mazbug village. They started enquiring from him about his antecedents which he could not answer because of his mental sickness. The police said he was only telling them that he was just sleeping in the mosque. Later, the youth dragged him out at 3 am from the mosque and started beating him and accusing him of being a braid chopper.
He was being taken care of by his mother who passed away. Since then, he has been wandering around and sleeping in different mosques.
After beating him for many hours, the crowd, police said, decided to parade him to the Fruit Mundi Sopore which is almost one kilometer away. The reason being that there are many people around and he will be set afire.
By 7 am, the crowd had reached Sopore Mundi and there was a crowd of last 2000 people, police said. “It was at this time that we rushed and rescued the boy who was immediately shifted to the hospital,” the police officer said.
It was only after the boy was sent to the hospital that the police started investigating the antecedents about the victim boy. He was identified as Waseem Ahmad Tantray son of Ghulam Nabi Trantray, a resident of Shrakwara, Kreeri. The family later told the police that he has been mentally unsound for most of his life. “He was being taken care of by his mother who passed away,” the police was told. “Since then, he has been wandering around and sleeping in different mosques.” The family has finally gone to the hospital and is taking care of him in SMHS where he is still not out of danger.
Police said they identified the accused from the video that went viral on social websites.
The mysterious braid chopping incidents have created massive scare across Kashmir. During night people are patrolling the streets and almost every stranger has to face music for being around, if he is caught. Police have constituted special investigation teams and announced a reward of Rs 6 lakhs for clues but it has not helped getting any the mysterious hair cutter.
Medical Superintendent SMHS hospital told Kashmir Life that Waseem is stable and in recovering.
Reports from Shrakwara said Tantray had once set gis own home afire and, for last many years, was living with his maternal uncle. He, however, was a bs conductor with a school, a job he was sacked from only a few months back.
Earlier in the day, SP Sopore Harmeet Singh told reporters that they are arresting more people in the incident. He accsed them of tryin to rn a tractor over him. The yoth arrested by police include Ahmad Malla S/O Mohammad Sultan (Nagmaha), Javaid Ahmad Da S/O Ghulam Hassan (Darpora, Delina), Zahid Ahmad Sheikh S/O Zahoor Ahmad, Shahid Ahmad Mir S/O Manzoor Ahmad, Nawaz Muzzamil Hussain Dar S/O Shabaan Dar, Kausar Hussain Dar S/O Shabaan, Ishfaq Ahmad Bhat S/O Bashir Ahmad, Mudassir Nabi S/O Ghulam Nabi, Zahoor Hussain Bhat S/O Ashiq Hussain, Mohammad Usama Ahngar S/O Mohammad Maqbool, Jameel Ahmad Bhat S/O Ghulam Mohammad, and Adil Bashir S/O Bashir Ahmad – all residents of Mazbug .
