Kashmir Shootout: Where is Humanity?

|By Alok Parekh|

Image courtesy: www.trtworld.com

Wednesday morning marked very disturbingly for a 3-year-old kid in Indian-administered Kashmir. Earlier on 1 July, his 65-year-old grandfather was shot dead in front of his eyes. Later, he was found sitting on the body stunned and confused. The victim, by local media, was identified as Bashir Ahmed Khan.

The incident reminded many of a similar killing in 2000. That time, a 12-year-old Palestinian kid, Muhammad al Durra was killed in Israeli gunfire. His father tried, and despite being injured, couldn't save him from being killed by those bullets. He was later seen sitting in a corner and pampering the corpse of his son.

Getting back to the Kashmir incident, there are two major controversies that are being spoken about widely. One by the police and the other by Khan's daughter.

According to the police he was shot during a crossfire where some locals attacked the officials. They also claim that one Indian soldier was killed in the battle. Another controversy emerged when Khan's daughter stated that her father had gone to a bank in his car. On his way, he was forced to get out of his car and was shot then and there. She said in agony "who shoots a person in front of a three-year kid?"

Who do you think is correct? Was it a planned encounter or a genuine crossfire? If planned, was it actually right on the shooters part to shoot someone in front of a minor?

We currently don't have any conclusive evidence to be siding with one of the two theories. So, we will leave this here for the readers to decide.