By Sheikh Imran Bashir, AIP
Srinagar: Shafiq Ahmad Sheikh had nothing to do with the protesters who were throwing stones at the bus in which he was travelling in Srinagar. A stone hit Sheikh on his head and he died later on Friday.
As per reports, the unfortunate incident took place at Batamaloo, when a mob, protesting the death sentence given to two Kashmiris in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar blast case, attacked a mini bus and pelted stones.
Forty-year-old Shafiq Ahmad Sheikh, who was travelling from Natipora to Batmaloo, was hit by a stone on the head resulting in serious injuries. He was taken to S K Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, where he succumbed to his wounds.
The group indulged in stone pelting to enforce closure of shops in the locality to protest precautionary measures taken by the authorities to prevent a march planned by Hurriyat Conference (G) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who was put under house arrest, a police spokesman told Agence India Press.
So far, the attackers have not been identified.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah blamed Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads the All Part Hurriyat Conference (G), for Sheikh’s death.
“Any right-thinking person would condemn this death unequivocally. This is an unnecessary death brought about by unnecessary timetable of protests announced Geelani. He is singularly responsible for this death today,” Abdullah told News Channels.
“It is only the result of Geelani’s Friday calendar of protests that he has announced that this innocent has died. If he (Geelani) he had not announced these protests I can assure you that not stone pelting would have taken place,” said Abdullah.
The government alleges that the stone-pelters are being financed and guided by Pakistan. ”It’s not as if all the stone pelting, that takes place, takes place on ideological grounds. We have sufficient evidence and more is being collected as we speak that there is a deep sort of pattern of the involvement of money, of developing and generating these sort of law and order situations,” Omar Abdullah had said.
Meanwhile Omar Abdullah assured that he would take tough action.