Current News Service
SRINAGAR
Protests erupted in Marhama Sangam area of South Kashmir’s Islamabad district on Saturday morning after people fished out the body of a 25 year old youth from the River Jehlum who according to locals had jumped into the river when Para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were chasing the protesters in the area on Friday evening.
The deceased youth has been identified as Shahnawaz Ahmed Khatana, son of Muhammad Iqbal, a resident of Dooddu Marhama.
Eyewitnesses said that a large number of people hit to roads and raised pro-freedom slogans.
They accused CRPF of murder and said that a group of protesters were chased away by CRPF personnel near Marhama while the youth in a bid to save his life jumped into the river Jehlum.
“The operation to retrieve his body was started by locals and his body was recovered from the river on Saturday morning,” the protesting locals said.
A police official on condition of anonymity said that the body of the youth was retrieved from the river on Saturday morning.
“Locals didn’t handover the body to the police for post mortem,” he said and confirmed that the incident occurred when a group of protesters were given a chased by the Para-military CRPF troopers.
Terming the incident unfortunate, Spokesperson CRPF Rajesh Kumar said that there is no need for youth to indulge in stone-pelting. “CRPF might have been chasing the miscreants and they wouldn’t have told the youth to jump into the river. We appeal all the youth to stay away from violence and concentrate on studies,” Kumar said.
