During an Indian Army hunt to kill operation on Wednesday, May 29th, in the Shopian district of Kashmir, a young man named Sajad Ahmad Parray of Badrahama village was shot to death by Indian forces who claimed he was a stone pelter attempting to disrupt the operation. They responded with live ammunition, pellet guns, & tear gas, killing him & injuring eighty other protesters who they claimed were also stone pelters. Thousands of people chanting pro-freedom slogans attended the funeral prayers for Sajad Ahmad, so many that multiple rounds of funerals prayers were required.
Now the young man’s family members are speaking out, demanding an investigation into his murder & compensation for his widow & two small children (one 3-years-old & the other 9-months-old) left with no source of income. Sajad Ahmad was a wood cutter who was working a long distance from the site of the hunt to kill operation. When the special forces & police set up a cordon & moved in for the operation, his family called him to come home. He told them he was not in the vicinity of the operation & delayed leaving work till evening. He was shot & killed on his way home. His cousin Umar said, “He has never taken part in protests & on Wednesday he wasn’t part of any protest,” adding that he could not have pelted stones at the troops since one of his hands was affected by a three-year-old bone fracture. That means he was killed in cold blood.
The Indian Army uses accusations of stone pelting to summarily execute unarmed protesters. But it’s clear from the numbers of children & others like Sajad Ahmad killed & injured that one doesn’t have to be involved in political activity of any kind to be considered a legitimate target.
May Sajad Ahmad Parray Rest In Peace. India out of Kashmir. End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.
(Photo of Sajad Ahmad Parray from Kashmir Vision)