Civilian Killed Near CRPF Camp in J&K's Shopian, Police Say Caught in Crossfire

A civilian was killed early Sunday morning in Zainpora area of Shopian in South Kashmir but the circumstances leading to the death are still being investigated. Multiple versions were offered by the police and security forces over the death of Shahid Ajaz, a labourer who would occasionally sell fruits. So far, what is clear is that Ajaz was shot near a CRPF camp.

Pictures surfacing on social media show Ajaz’s body lying next to a vehicle, his head rested against the wheel, legs stretched and arms inside his ‘pheran’ (long garment worn Kashmiris) and a bag from which vegetables and fruits were strewn on the road.

The Shopian Police early in the day tweeted that they were investigating the case and suggested Ajaz was killed in a crossfire.

“Around 10:30 hours, unidentified terrorists attacked a Naka party of 178 Bn, CRPF at Babapora, Shopian. CRPF retaliated the fire and during cross-firing, one unidentified person got killed. Further details are being ascertained,” the Shopian district police tweeted.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had initially suggested they opened fire after there was an attempt to snatch weapons from an officer but nothing was clear till this report was filed.

Meanwhile, the family of the dead youth appealed to authorities to release the body for the burial. A pall of gloom descended on his family when the news of his killing reached his village in Anantnag. Some grieving relatives said the youth, who was in Class 12, worked as a labourer to help his family tide over the crisis. “He was supporting his father, mother and three siblings. His father had recently fractured his arm so he decided to work in his absence,” a woman who had come to mourn Ajaz’s death told media.

Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti have condemned the death.

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