KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
After newspapers were banned from printing for at least five days, it is now the news men who bear the brunt of forces manning Kashmir streets.
Sharing news of the “atrocities” too is not easy in these fateful days as a Journalist reporting from North Kashmir’s Kupwara district was shot at with pellets and is recuperating in SMHS Srinagar here.
Mir Javid, Associative Editor of Kashmir News Network, a news gathering agency was shot at with pellets on last Friday during police action against protestors in Kralgund Qaziabad near Langate.
People in the area had come out on streets protesting against the “atrocities” of the forces.
“When I reached the spot, police and CRPF personnel were thrashing the people, vandalizing public property, ransacking houses and beating up women folk, children and the elderly. They were behaving like beasts,” Javid told a Srinagar based newspaper.
When he saw the mayhem in the area, Javid took shelter in one of the houses.
After some time, he thought of enquiring about his own family members before leaving from hospital to get details of the injured.
“As I reached near the main gate, a gypsy came and shot pellets on me. I was all alone and there were no other persons. There were no protests or clashes at that time and I was targeted,” he said.
Javid claimed that he was warned by men in uniform him against reporting events unfolding in Kupwara and sharing them with newspapers in Srinagar “but when I refused to relent, they warned me of dire consequences”.
Hi left eye was injured and blood was oozing out of his entire body after being hit by pellets.
As police personnel were chasing the injured persons to the Kralgund hospital to prevent administration of first aid, Javid was shifted to a village for overnight stay.
“They (police) tried to arrest the injured persons before their treatment started but a stiff resistance from people forced the police to retreat. However, before leaving the premises, they ransacked the hospital property and exploded tear smoke shells to create disturbance,” he said.
He stayed with a friend for the night where many pellets were pulled out from his body by using a nail-clipper.
A medical official helped him reach SHMS Srinagar on Saturday where he is being treated for his eye injury.
