Toddler pictured sitting on grandfather’s bullet-ridden chest in Kashmir
Protests have erupted in India-occupied Kashmir after government forces allegedly killed an elderly man in front of his three-year-old grandson.
A picture of the boy sitting on his grandfather’s bullet ridden chest in the town of Sopore has sparked outrage, with family members accusing security forces of killing the 65-year-old during a gunfight and placing the child on top of him.
The civilian, named as Bashir Ahmed Khan, was described as small-time employee who earned 6,000 rupees (£64) per month.
‘My brother was not a militant. He did not carry a gun. Why was he killed?’ said Nazir Ahmad.
‘If you want, I can come with you to meet the top police officers to counter their claims’ he told Al Jazeera.
Police have denied killing Mr Khan, saying his car was caught in a gun battle between rebels and security forces. Inspector general of police in Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, alleges the battle was sparked by rebels opening fire from a mosque in the northern town of Sopore, killing one official and injuring three others.
He accused the victim’s family of being ‘pressured by the militants’ to blame their relative’s death on security forces.
However, Mr Khan’s family have contested the police version of events, saying if that was the case, his body would have been found inside the car, not the road.
Khan’s nephew, Aijaz Ahmad Qudsi, told Anadolu news agency his deceased uncle’s car was unharmed, with not even a scratch. Qudsi claimed he was taken from his car and shot by the armed forces.
The family members also accused the security forces of putting the child on the deceased civilian’s body ‘for taking pictures’.
‘They dragged the body out and put the child on top. The child’s clothes were drenched in his grandfather’s blood,’ one of Khan’s relatives claimed.
Hundreds assembled at Mr Khan’s funeral on Wednesday, shouting ‘We want freedom [from Indian rule]’.
A spokesman for India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has come under fire for mocking the picture of the dead civilian.
Sambit Patra faced outrage after tweeting the photo with the comment ‘Pulitzer Lovers??’
BJP leaders, including Patra, had criticised the awarding of the Pulitzer Prize to three Kashmir journalists in May, claiming the photos and commentary on them were ‘anti-India’, Al Jazeera reports.
India has more than 500,000 troops stationed in Kashmir, a Himalayan, Muslim-majority territory also claimed by Pakistan.
The nuclear powers have fought two of their three wars over the region, which both claim in entirety but rule parts of.
Rebel groups have fought for the region’s independence or its merger with Pakistan for decades. Since 1989, the fighting has left tens of thousands of mostly civilians dead.
India blames Pakistan for stirring the unrest by backing separatist militants in Kashmir – a charge Islamabad denies.
The UN has previously expressed concern over the ‘impunity for human rights violations and lack of access’ to Kashmir, which last year was stripped of its special status by India’s Hindu-nationalist led government, meaning it no longer has the right to its own constitution, flag and freedom to make laws.
Government forces have intensified operations against rebels since a coronavirus lockdown was imposed in March.
According to the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a rights group, at least 229 people have been killed during more than 100 military operations across Kashmir since January, including 32 civilians, 54 government forces and 143 rebels.
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