Seven people, including a Class VIII student, died and around 37 were injured on Saturday during intense clashes with security forces in Pulwama following the killing of three militants in an encounter. One soldier was also killed and another injured in the operation.
The death of seven civilians in protests, “mostly due to bullet injuries in the upper body” as per hospital records from Pulwama and Srinagar, is the highest so far this year. Earlier in October, six civilians died in a blast at an encounter site in Kulgam.
Director-General of Police Dilbagh Singh said an FIR had been lodged.
According to the police, the security forces encircled a group of Hizbul Mujahideen in the Monghama area of Sirnoo.
The slain militants were identified as Zahoor Ahmad Thoker, Adnan alias Tahir Hizbi and Bilal Ahmad alias Hashim, all from Pulwama. “Thokar had deserted the Army’s 173 Territorial Army along with service rifle in 2017 and joined the Hizbul Mujahiden as a commander. He was involved in a series of attacks on security forces,” said the police.
Locals alleged that “security forces opened indiscriminate fire at a group of protesters after the encounter was over at Sirnoo village”, away from the encounter site. However, the police said the operation was on when the protesters attacked security personnel with stones.
Hospitals overwhelmed
Doctors at the Pulwama District Hospital said they “worked under chaotic conditions with a stream of injured people admitted within an hour”.
“Six were declared brought dead. All the victims had died of bullet injuries. It was a chaotic situation. We attended to 32 injured, with both bullet and pellet injuries,” Medical Superintendent of Pulwama district hospital, Dr. Abdul Rashid Parra told The Hindu .
Dr. Saleem Tak, medical superintendent at Srinagar’s SMHS hospital, told The Hindu , the hospital admitted five grievously injured persons. “Three had bullet wounds and two bore pellet injuries. One was declared dead on arrival. Others are stable now,” he said.
Governor Satya Pal Malik reviewed the security situaion and directed the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir “to inquire the Pulwama incident and suggest precautions to minimise civilian casualties in anti-militancy operations”.
