Our son was killed in cold-blood, family of slain Budgam civilian says

BUDGAM — The killing of youth has devastated the Budgam family which still doesn’t believe that their loved one is no more.

Paramilitary troopers from 141 battalion fired upon a civilian, Mehrajuddin Shah of Makhama Beerwah, after he didn’t stop at a barricade, according to police, in Kawoosa Narbal area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

“Please don’t lie and don’t twist facts. Please don’t issue fake statements. It is absolutely wrong to claim that my son tried to escape and didn’t stop. He was not such type of man. The reality is that he was stopped, dragged out from the vehicle and shot dead,” Ghulam Nabi Shah, the father of the deceased youth said at his home.

Hundreds of people visited the bereaved family. Woman were wailing and crying while the sisters of the deceased youth demanded the body of their brother.

“My brother is a police officer. My son was a law abiding person. He didn’t jump the barricade but was killed in cold blood. It hurts when after killing an innocent person, you resort to lies to justify the killing,” Shah said.

While talking about his slain son, the father said that he was very hardworking, noble and caring. “I had taken care of him and my daughters when their mother passed away young. Look at his sisters, how they are mourning his death,” he said and demanded the body of his son.

“Please somebody ask them, why don’t they handover the body of my son. They should handover the body of my son, who was murdered today,” the father, who was visibly shocked, said.

“If my son was escaping and he was fired upon, why there is no damage to his vehicle? How bullets pierced into his body without touching the windscreen of the vehicle. There is no damage to the vehicle. My son was shot dead by CRPF after dragging him from the vehicle,” he said.

While divulging information about the incident, Ghulam Nabi Shah said that on Wednesday morning, my brother Ali Muhammad who works in Jammu Kashmir Police called his deceased son Mehrajuddin on phone, asking him to drop him at PCR where he is posted. “I still don’t know where my brother is. He was accompanying him.”

Police Version

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday issued a statement regarding the Budgam civilian killing. The statement reads, “Today at about 10:20 hrs, during joint Naka at Khalisa Kawoosa in the jurisdiction of PS Magam, a Wagon-R vehicle bearing registration No. JK02AK-6702 was signalled to stop. However, the said vehicle ignored to stop and fled away from two Naka points in suspicious condition.”

“The Naka party opened fire at the vehicle to thwart the attempt. The driver of the vehicle got injured in the incident and has been identified as Mehraj ud din Peer son of Ghulam Nabi Peer, resident of Makhama Beerwah Budgam,” it said.

It added, “The injured was shifted to hospital for medical treatment, however he succumbed to his injuries. Police has registered a case and started investigation into the matter.”