Srinagar: The death of a middle-aged man in Gurez Valley of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district has led to claims and counter claims between army and the villagers, reports said Saturday.
52-year-old Muhammad Abdullah Hajam son of Abdul Rahman Hajam a resident of Tarbal was allegedly called by the local army unit of (36RR) at Tarbal–the last village near LoC, about 20 kms from Gurez town, a local news agency KNO reported Saturday, while quoting locals
The locals said that they came to know this morning about the death of the man inside the army camp. The deceased according to locals was the father of five children.
According to the report, the locals further alleged that the network connectivity was suspended in the entire Bagtore area this morning following the incident. After Hajam’s death, his relatives and locals held a protest in the area, the report said.
However, refuting the allegations of custodial death, an army spokesperson said that the elderly man died of an accident after slipping into a nallah.
Srinagar based Defence Spokesman Colonel Emron Musavi in a statement issued here said that last night the middle-aged man saw some suspicious movement in the forest area ahead of Tharbal village.
“He immediately informed the nearest army post about the suspicious activity. Army search party along with him went to search the area in the darkness. While the party was moving through a slushy patch, he unfortunately slipped into the nallah,” he said.
“The soldiers immediately rescued him and brought him to the nearest military doctor. The doctor immediately examined him and gave first aid. However, despite the best efforts of the doctor, Abdullah Hazam could not be saved and passed away due to his injuries at 8 am,” he added.
The Defence spokesman further said that Post mortem has been conducted and the body is being handed over to the family.
“All possible assistance is being provided to the family of Abdullah Hajam,” he said. (KNO)
This story first appeared on kashmirobserver.net
