‘Man as Army shield’ video triggers furore

Srinagar: A video showing a Kashmiri youth being used as a human shield by the Army against stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir’s central district of Budgam has caused outrage in the state and beyond.

The youth, seen tied to a moving jeep with an audio warning to stone-pelters in the background, has been identified as Farooq Dar, while the Army unit involved in the act was 53 Rashtriya Rifles, preliminary investigations have revealed.

Officials investigating the matter on the instructions of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said Mr Dar is a resident of Chhil Brass in Budgam.

Mr Dar told investigators that he was out to cast his vote and later visit his sister’s house after a relative’s death when he was picked up and paraded through 10 to 12 villages, officials said.

Sources in the Army, which has promised a probe, claimed that he was picked up from a “trouble spot”, Gundipora, and was tied up for barely 100 metres before being released.

“The contents of the video are being verified and investigated,” said defence spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia here.

The video surfaced two days after a series of amateur videos showing CRPF jawans being heckled, hit and kicked by a mob during the bypoll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat went viral on social media, evoking nationwide outrage. The repoll held on April 9 was marred by widespread violence across the constituency, leaving eight persons dead and dozens wounded in security forces’ firings and other actions on protesting youth and rampaging mobs.

The video shows the youth tied in front of the jeep moving through a village, and in the background, a warning — “Those who throw stones will meet the same fate” — can be heard.

The Army had earlier reportedly come under stone-pelting. Locals and police sources said as the youth was being paraded, a crowd assembled outside a school where a polling station had been set up, and subsequently attacked it with stones.

Three protesters were injured when security forces opened fire, they said. Soon violence spread to other areas.

Former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah expressed shock over the incident. He wrote on Twitter, “This young man was TIED to the front of an Army jeep to make sure no stones were thrown at the jeep? This is just so shocking!!!!!#Kashmir.”

In another tweet, he said, “Here’s the video as well. A warning can be heard saying stone pelters will meet this fate. This requires an urgent inquiry & follow up NOW!!”

CM Mufti has sought a report from the state police on the “disturbing” videos of “unacceptable incidents so that necessary action is taken”, official sources said.