SRINAGAR: A number of vehicles were caught in intense clashes between the police and stone pelters at Narbal crossing. Two persons in two separate vehicles were injured of whom one died in the hospital.

The slain person was identified as R Thirumani, a resident of Chennai who was visiting Kashmir along with his father, Rajwali.

Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti is seen consoling Rajaveel, father of Chennai tourist R Thirumani, who was killed in an incident of stone pleting at Magam. The father son were travelling to Srinagar when they were caught in the clashes on May 7, 2018.

Thirumani, aged around 22, was shifted to SKIMS where he succumbed to his injuries. He had a severe head injury.

The injured girl still in hospital has been identified as Sabreena, a 19-yearold resident of Handwara.

Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti drove to the Police Control Room where she spent some time with the father of the slain tourist.  “My head hangs in shame,” she was quoted having said. “It is very sad and heartbreaking.”

An official who accompanied the Chief Minister to the police control room said Ms Mufti was shocked to know that the slain tourist’s father was not in a position to convey the tragedy to his family. “It was a group of 40-family members who was in Kashmir on a trip,” he said. Ms Mufti was accompanied by her sister Dr Rubaiya Sayeed, who is also a resident of Chennai.

“We’ve killed a tourist by throwing stones at the vehicle he was travelling in. Let’s try and wrap our heads around the fact that we stoned a tourist, a guest, to death while we glorify these stone pelters & their methods,” opposition leader Omar Abdullah, who is on a weeklong visit of Ladakh tweeted. “This young man from Chennai died in my constituency & while I don’t support these goons, their methods or their ideology I’m deeply, deeply sorry that this happened at all & that too in an area I’ve been proud to represent since 2014. I’m also pained to know that among the injured from the stone pelting in Narbal is a young woman from Handwara in North Kashmir. I pray she & the others injured make a quick recovery.”

Police said they have registered a case and investigations have been started. “We have registered a case under FIR Number 57/2018 u/s 148, 247, 307, 336 RPC in Police Station Magam and investigations into it has been initiated and culprits involved into the incident will be nabbed soon,” one officer told a news gathering agency.

A police spokesman late night issued a brief statement. “During clashes at Magam today, some persons including bystanders sustained injuries. In this incident, a person identified as R Thirumani son of Rajaveel, a resident of Chennai also got injured and was shifted to hospital at SKIMSD or medical treatment who later succumbed at the hospital. Police has registered a case in this regard and investigations taken up.”

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has condemned the incident. “Deeply saddened by the news of death of a tourist due to stone pelting. Condemn such hooliganism and rowdiness,” Mirwaiz wrote on twitter. “It  is totally against our ethos of treating tourists as respected guests and brings a bad name to the peoples movement.”

1 COMMENT

  1. Mufti, I hope you see the situation in J&K objectively, What can the indian army do when your goons are uncontrollable, How can a nation tolerate such illiterate mobs who have no sense of what they are doing depending on a neighbouring nation which harbours instability. Your mobs fall prey to this. Even if india gives freedom(which is far from reality) can kashmir survive with this attitude leave alone aggressed and conquered the next day by pakistan and put you to turmoil the way they do to baluchs. Can J&K sustain its economy and give a better life to its people without indian support. Please wake up and wake all your clan from the false dreams and behave with tolerance and root out all those morons who go against the unity of the nation. Or else please be aware that the day is not too far that india will loose its patience and would do what is necessary to root out all the negative elements…

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