Kashmir man shot dead for demanding electricity

Protests against long hours of power cut due to NHPC-run hydel project turn violent
Srinagar: In an incident that threatens to plunge Valley into a fresh crisis soon after the onset of New Year, a person was killed and two others were injured when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) opened fire on a crowd protesting the lack of electricity at the village Boniyar in Baramulla district. In a prompt response, Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested the five CISF men to try and prevent angry reactions from other parts of Valley.

A 22-year-old man identified as Muhammad Altaf Sood was shot dead while two other people received bullet injuries on Monday when CISF gunmen fired on the protesters. Police sources told TEHELKA that the incident took place in the morning when hundreds of villagers launched a dharna outside the gate of NHPC-run Uri Hydel Power Project. They said the protesters who numbered around 400 were fired upon when they reached the main gate of NHPC installations.

Altaf Ahmad Sood was hit on chest and died instantly while Abdul Majid Khan (70) and Parvez Ahmad Khan (25) sustained injuries. Immediately after the firing, tension gripped the entire area with locals raising slogans against the government and CISF. Locals told TEHELKA that the protests were peaceful and the victim was “intentionally” aimed at.

“We started protests in the at 9am. By noon we had the civil administration comprising Sub-District Magistrate and Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Boniyar) talking to us. After they left we continued the sit-in. The CISF personnel first fired in the air and then on the people. Sood wasn’t part of the protests. He was standing in a corner,” Imtiyaz Ahmad, a local resident, told TEHELKA. “When our land was taken up for this power project by NHPC, we were promised uninterrupted electricity. But right now we don’t get power for even 4 hours in a day,” another local said.

Meanwhile, the police has arrested the entire CISF deployment at the power project gate. “We have lodged an FIR and arrested five CISF personnel,” SSP Baramulla Haseeb Mugal said.
From inputs of tehelka