An 18-year-old was killed and another person injured on Friday after security forces allegedly opened fire on a group of youths who were throwing stones at them in the Beerwah area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, PTI reported. The state’s police have registered a case against a counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles unit, IANS reported.
The teenager was identified as Tanveer Ahmad Wani, a tailor. A bullet hit his head, Greater Kashmir reported. The other victim was taken to hospital.
The police told PTI that the group had been targeting some Army vehicles. “An Army patrol was subjected to heavy stone pelting by a mob in Kondur village near Beerwah town,” a police statement said. The police also said that the situation in Beerwah and its adjoining areas remains tense.
The Army said they were forced to open fire on the stone-pelters after some of them tried to snatch weapons from the soldiers, reported the Greater Kashmir.
“An Army patrol was subjected to heavy stone pelting by a mob in Kondur village near Beerwah town at 1.15 pm,” said an army spokesman. “In no time, the numbers swelled and the intensity of stone pelting increased. Some stone-pelters tried to close in with the patrol and snatch weapons from the soldiers. Two persons were reportedly injured when troops opened fired. One of the injured, however, later succumbed to his injuries.”
The police had earlier said that the Army had mistaken the sound of fire crackers for a grenade blast, which prompted them to open fire.
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