In a shocking incident that took place in Kashmir’s Sopore on Wednesday morning, a 60-year-old civilian, died after he got caught in a cross-firing between militants and CRPF personnel. The civilian was killed right in front of his 3-year-old grandson’s eyes. In a heart-wrenching picture that surfaced on the internet later, the boy was seen sitting on his grandfather’s body, crying, not knowing what had happened.
Mumbai Mirror reported that Bashir Ahmed Khan (65), a contractor, was travelling to Sopore to oversee the progress of one of his projects and had taken his 3-year-old grandson for an outing. However, he was caught in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces and stopped to find cover when he was struck by bullets. It was also reported that one CRPF constable also lost his life in the incident and three others sustained injuries.
However, while the internet was shaken by the picture, BJP leader, Sambit Patra posted the picture on Twitter and captioned it, “Pulitzer Lovers??”
PULITZER LOVERS ?? pic.twitter.com/Mvau0UAyux
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) July 1, 2020
Patra soon faced widespread condemnation for his actions.
What Sambit Patra did violates Twitter policies on hate speech AND it violates Juvenile Justice Act provisions to share information harming privacy of a minor child & witness to a crime.
If @jack @Twitter can remove Trump’s hateful tweets, what about Mr Patra? #BanSambitPatra https://t.co/DJeOGhMHXH— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) July 1, 2020
Do you not have an iota of empathy left in you?? https://t.co/PJYT4uZZbj
— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) July 1, 2020
Cant you just observe or comment on the horrific human tragedy of something like this without it being used as snark for a political grouping you disagree with? You are at a level of sickness & vileness that there may not be a way back from. Hope the journey was worth it. https://t.co/nFAmjxfHSK
— Abhinandan Sekhri (@AbhinandanSekhr) July 1, 2020
Why would such a tragic photo be posted with this horrific and cold blooded caption by @sambitswaraj ? How can this tragic event be used to taunt and troll? And who is it aimed at? Courage to be specific? ?? https://t.co/Ou4HGZv3Bg
— Sucheta Dalal (@suchetadalal) July 1, 2020
It must be noted that even though Patra received a lot of flak for his insensitive comment, neither has he taken it down, nor has Twitter taken any action against it. Instead, he took to Twitter to clarify his stance to all who questioned him on his outrageous comment.
Madam …this is the time when You should hold a placard close to your heart reading “I am ashamed because of Pak sponsored Jihad in Kashmir”
But you all are selective ..
You’ll never do that .. https://t.co/pRuifNvD4r— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) July 1, 2020
विसाल जी ?
सच्चाई बोलने पर आप को मेरी सोच घिनौनी लगती है
काश इतनी ही घिनोनी आपको “जिहाद” भी लगता … https://t.co/FPp1mo1cOl— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) July 1, 2020
Literally every media channel has posted these pictures..many journalists have ..
When you can post George Floyd’s pic with “I can’t breathe” ..that’s Ok
But when I post an Indian terror attack tragedy ..asking questions about your selective questioning ..that’s Wrong ..WHY?? https://t.co/mWOL7y4aSD— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) July 1, 2020
“Jihadist-In-Chief” need not sermonise #HumanityOverPakTerror https://t.co/fcQ2dcYOhI
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) July 1, 2020
Patra’s past attack on Pulitzer Prize winning journalists
Patra’s comment could have been aimed at Indian journalists Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan and Channi Anand who were honoured with the coveted Pulitzer Prize in the field of feature photography earlier this year for their work documenting the sights of Kashmir.
At the time, Patra had tweeted –
The citation of the Pulitzer award to the three so called Indian journalists:
1)Why did these journalists accept this award ..an award is important or the sovereignty of your Nation is?
2)Rahul Gandhi & @INCIndia congratulates them ..Does Rahul concur?#AntiNationalRahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/p7aywWDp7y— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) May 5, 2020
Patra had gone on a rampage against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who had congratulated the journalists for their win. Patra targeted Rahul Gandhi alleging that he had wished those who considered Kashmir to be a ‘contested territory’. However, Patra probably didn’t take into account that it was the agency who provided captions to photographs and not the photojournalists themselves, said Free Press Journal.
Friends let me present to you the real @RahulGandhi :
Just read what the Pulitzer Prize citation to three “Indian” journalists reads,it clearly mentions Kashmir as independent of India
And here is RahulG congratulating these so called journalists !!#AntiNationalRahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/JMO94EMS3U— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) May 5, 2020
Civilian’s family alleges foul play
However, while Patra has turned to the microblogging site to call some naysayers ‘jihadis’ or ‘Pak agents’, a video of the civilian’s presumed relative has surfaced where he alleges that according to eyewitnesses present at the site, it was the CRPF jawans who shot Khan and not anyone else.
In the video circulating on Facebook, the relative said that the family members were called by onlookers and informed that the CRPF jawans had allegedly pulled Khan out of his vehicle and gunned him down. He said that he was told some personnel of the security forces had been injured in the crossfire with the militants and in probably in a fit of rage, they instead shot Khan to give way to their anger.
https://www.facebook.com/100040607924012/videos/293277962035799/
In another video, a man presumed to be the civilian’s son, said –
https://www.facebook.com/107830364192684/videos/3426246710929853/
The Kashmir Walla reported that in one video, the wife of the killed civilian has alleged that government forces placed the child on the civilian’s body. “They killed him and then kept his three-year-old grandson on his body,” the wife of the killed man can be heard saying in video, as she is consoled by mourning women at her house. “The child’s clothes are soaked with his grandpa’s blood. He was not a militant. He was a petty employee.”
CRPF denies allegations
The CRPF has denied the accusations. Javaid Iqbal, Senior Superintendent of Police, Sopore, told The Kashmir Walla, “These reports of CRPF personnel dragging him from the vehicle and shooting him outside are absolutely incorrect,” adding that two militants belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba were behind the attack.
The Sopore police also issued a statement saying –
The news surfaced on some social networking sites that the civilian was brought down and killed is totally baseless and is far beyond the facts, Sopore Police refutes and denies the news and legal action shall be initiated against the false reports and rumours @KashmirPolice
— Sopore Police (@SoporePolice) July 1, 2020
Zulfiqar Hasan, ADG CRPF spoke to the media saying that some people had tried to give it a spin by alleging that the CRPF personnel took the civilian out of the vehicle and shot him.
#WATCH — It was an unfortunate incident.I think some ppl have tried to give it a spin by saying that CRPF took him (a civilian) out of the vehicle&shot him. It’s totally untrue:Zulfiqar Hasan,ADG CRPF on death of a civilian during a terror attack in Sopore y’day. #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/MuKiCdfkP6
— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2020
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