Kin contests cop version of how civilian was killed in J&K terror attack

SRINAGAR: A day after 65-year-old Srinagar resident Bashir Ahmad Khan was shot dead in front of his three-year-old grandson during a Lashkar-e-Taiba ambush on CRPF in north Kashmir's Sopore, the family of the deceased demanded an investigation to set at rest doubts about whether he fell to terrorist bullets or was allegedly killed by security forces.
While J&K police claimed to be in possession of conclusive evidence about Bashir being killed by terrorists holed up in the attic of a nearby mosque, social media was abuzz with theories about the circumstances of his death.
"We have sufficient evidence to refute all rumours and allegations. We have CCTV footage to refute these claims," Kashmir IGP Vijay Kumar said.
Besides Bashir, a CRPF head constable was killed and three personnel were injured in the Lashkar attack.
"We respect the IGP Kashmir. He has argued that nobody from our family except a toddler was at the site when my father was killed. It is a fact that we weren't there to see what happened, but neither was the IGP," said Iram Bashir, the slain civilian's daughter. "I can’t claim whose bullet killed my father. But I want to ask one question: when bullets are being fired, will a person speed away or run out of his car to face the bullets?"
Iram said her father's body lying on the ground "in a hands-up pose" was "suspicious".
Bashir and his grandson Ayaad were passing by Model Town in Sopore en route to Handwara, 72km from Srinagar, to fetch the family's domestic help when the terror attack started.
In a video statement that has been widely shared on social media, Bashir's son Suhail Ahmad alleges that his father was "dragged out of his car" by CRPF personnel and shot. Pictures of Ayaad perched on his grandfather's chest and crying have added to the outrage that has swept the Valley.
At the wreath-laying ceremony of slain head constable Deepchand Verma, CRPF's special director-general Zulfikar Hassan said the rumours about how Bashir died were precisely why terrorist outfits were now targeting security forces in civilian areas. He said the use of mosques was part of the strategy.
"Terrorists lying in wait inside mosques to strike at security forces is a highly reprehensible act. Masjid committees must ensure that religious places aren’t hijacked by terrorist outfits," Hassan said. "We don’t enter or search religious places to maintain their sanctity."