Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday claimed that a shopkeeper from Batamaloo in Civil Lines Srinagar enacted the drama of beard chopping for stealing cash from his shop to escape bank loan repayment.
A police official said that they received a report that beard of Farooq Ahmad Bhat was chopped off and Rs 1.63 lakh in cash stolen from his shop at Batamaloo on Tuesday. Bhat had alleged that he was at his shop when three people approached him and asked for cigarettes. They caught hold of him as soon as he turned around to get cigarettes. They sprayed something at Bhat, knocking him unconscious.
Bhat was found by some locals, who had come to buy groceries at the shop, lying on road with his beard chopped off. He was immediately rushed to SHMS hospital.
The official said Bhat didn’t file any complaint with the police. However, taking cognizance of the incident, police initiated investigation into the matter. The preliminary investigation revealed that the shopkeeper enacted drama of beard chopping and stole cash from his shop to escape bank loan repayment.
