Budding Jammu And Kashmir Cricketer Among Three Who Were Killed In Handwara Firing Incident
He was young, ambitious and stood for a cause. He liked spending time with friends and loved his sport. He was like your any other boy next door. He was Nayeem Qadir Bhat, one of the three people killed in the Handwar Indian army firing in Jammu and Kashmir.
Nayeem was a top-order batsman and wanted to play for the Jammu and Kashmir state side. A student of Government Degree College Handwara, Nayeem attended a national-level Under-19 cricket camp three years ago. As is the case with most cricketers coming from Jammu and Kashmir, Nayeem's hero was off-spinner Parvez Rasool, who became the first cricketer from J&K to go on and play for India. Nayeem even has pics on his Facebook account with Rasool, which went viral after his death.
He was killed on Tuesday in a crossfire when security forces retaliated to stone-pelting from youths who were protesting the alleged molestation of a girl by some army personnel.
PTI
In one picture, Bhat is seen shaking hands with a senior police officer before the start of a recent cricket tournament in the district. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said the security personnel involved in the killing of the youth will be given exemplary punishment as such incidents cannot be tolerated since these have a "negative impact" on the state government's efforts to consolidate peace efforts.
PTI
Giving details of the incident, the police spokesman said within minutes of alleged incident of molestation by an army man, public in large numbers gathered there and attacked the army bunker in Handwara chowk. They assaulted the personnel deployed there, ransacked the bunker and attempted to set fire to it, he said.
AP
"In retaliation, the security forces deployed (there) used force to disperse the violent rampaging mob. In the process, two individuals -- Mohammad Iqbal and Nayeem Qadir Bhat sustained fire-arm injuries," the spokesman said. "They were evacuated to hospital where they, unfortunately, succumbed to their injuries," he said, adding that the police deeply "regrets the loss of life".
The police spokesman said a criminal case has been registered into the Handwara incident and investigations started to ascertain the facts. Additional police personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas of the city to maintain law and order.