Kashmir turns tense over driver's death in Udhampur attack

Govt to enforce undeclared curfew in downtown Srinagar; separatists, traders, transporters call for shutdown


Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
______

SRINAGAR, Oct 18: Entire Kashmir valley turned tense over the 24-year-old truck driver Zahid Rasool Bhat’s death in Safdarjung Hospital of New Delhi on Sunday, nine days after he alongwith two others sustained serious burn injuries in a petrol bomb attack allegedly by activists and followers of some Hindu right wing groups on the highway in Udhampur.

Immediately after the news of Zahid's death spread through social media, followed by television, authorities swung into action and put in place an exhaustive contingency plan to deal with a possible turbulence. Parts of Anantnag and Kulgam districts observed shutdown without any group's call. Transport on Srinagar-Jammu highway thinned down to a trickle and clashes between the unruly youth groups and Police occurred at around a dozen places.

Zahid's body in a coffin reached by State government’s aircraft from New Delhi at 5.40 pm. Five members of the bereaved family and its relatives carried Zahid’s body to Srinagar and thereafter by ambulance to his village of Botengo in Kulgam area of South Kashmir.

At Srinagar Airport, the coffin was received by PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, Law Minister Basharat Bukhari and CM's aide Waheed-ur-Reman Parra. National Conference leaders Sakeena Itoo, Nasir Aslam Wani and Bashir Ahmad Veeri were also present at the arrival.

Family sources told STATE TIMES that Zahid's funeral rites would be performed at 9.00 a.m. on Monday.

With condemnations pouring in from all possible quarters, almost all the separatist organisations and alliances, including both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF, besides transporters and traders bodies called for total shutdown on Monday. Individual leaders and organisations came down with tons of flak on the ruling BJP's ideological arm RSS and PDP-BJP coalition.

The PDP-BJP alliance was at the receiving end of fire from almost all the separatist and mainstream opposition parties, civil society groups and thousands of netizens on social media who alleged that the two ruling parties had promoted hatred, mistrust and total divide between the people of the two regions first in 2008 and now in 2015. They invariably alleged that “goons and zealots enjoying BJP's patronage”, which was in power courtesy PDP, had been given a long rope to target and victimise the followers of one particular region and religion.

NC President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah held
BJP and its allies “directly responsible” for Zahid's death in allegedly the BJP-RSS  attack of October 9^th . He said on Twitter: "The Hon PM passed the buck on to @yadavakhilesh & the UP Govt for #Dadri. Who will he blame for #Zahid's death now???”

“And to think that all the state Govt could do was to throw 10,000 rupees at #Zahid & wash it's hands off the whole thing #BeefMurder". Omar added:  “Another needless death in the name of #BeefBan for which the BJP & its affiliates including allies are directly responsible".

The government was particularly targeted for its "exhibitionism" after the State Information Department circulated a photograph showing Ms Mufti and Mr Drabu getting themselves clicked with Zahid's coffin.

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed came out immediately with his reaction. “I have no words to condemn the dastardly act which consumed the life of a poor and innocent young boy for no fault of his,” he said.

Expressing solidarity with the family members of the deceased, the Chief Minister said under no circumstances shall those guilty of this barbaric crime be allowed to go unpunished.

He said though the loss of life of Zahid in the tragic incident cannot be compensated, he had directed the official machinery to extend all possible help to the bereaved family in its hour of grief.

END