Body of ‘stone pelter’ fished out of Jhelum

SRINAGAR: The body of a youth, who had jumped into the Jhelum on Friday after being allegedly chased by security forces during a protest, was retrieved from the

SRINAGAR: The body of a youth, who had jumped into the Jhelum on Friday after being allegedly chased by security forces during a protest, was retrieved from the river in the Sangam area of Anantnag district on Saturday.

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Police and locals said 24-year-old Shahnawaz Ahmad along with two other youths had jumped into the river after being chased by security forces during a stone-pelting incident. However, while the other two youths managed to swim to the shore, Ahmad drowned.

CRPF PRO Rajesh Yadav told Hindustan Times that Ahmad was part of a group of stone pelters when the CRPF men tried to chase him away. “Troops as usual tried to disperse the youth by chasing them. The young man thought that he would jump into the river and run away,” Yadav said.

Meanwhile, Saturday marked the 50th day of curfew in the Valley following the protests that erupted after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wanion July 8. With no let up in separatist-called shutdown, the police late on Friday arrested Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, one of the key separatist leaders spearheading the protests, and locked him up in a government facility in Srinagar, a police officer said.

Following more attacks on its drivers and cargo, the Jammu and Kashmir Oil Tankers Owners’ Association again suspended ferrying fuel to trouble-torn Kashmir.

Amid the turmoil, Kashmir continued to be plagued by militancy as militants killed a policeman in Quil village of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday, gunning him down from a close range. Irshad Ahmad Ganai was leaving his home for work at Pulwama police lines when he was attacked by extremists, sources said. He died on the spot.

(With agency inputs)