Video editor: Varun Sharma
As the Kashmir Valley continues to remain tense and under lockdown, in the aftermath of the stripping away of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, The Quint tracked down a victim of pellet injuries, who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in Srinagar, and spoke to his family.
The victim, a 15-year-old boy, was hit by pellets in Srinagar on 6 August. Narrating what happened on that fateful day, his elder brother told The Quint:
"They (my brother and his friends) had gone to the ground to play carrom. He lost the game and then went to play cricket. While playing, the ball went out of the ground into a nearby lane, which is very close to the main road. Meanwhile, CRPF and police personnel were passing by the road. Suddenly, he (my brother) bent down to pick up the ball and they (security personnel) thought he was picking up a stone to pelt,” the brother said.
“He was hit by a tear-gas shell on his head, because of which he couldn't see anything. They also targeted his eyes and hit him with a pellet," he added.
With the pellet having penetrated his head and his left eye damaged, the boy had to undergo a surgery. The boy had passed his class 10 exams recently, with his family recalling how he was a good cricket player and could have opted for the game as a career.
"Pellets are banned in other countries... they are not even used on animals. And here, they are being used on children. Even if they wanted to hit him with the pellet, they could have aimed it somewhere else on the body. But they are targeting the eyes. They are finishing an entire generation," the brother went on to remark.
MHA Confirms Reports of Stone-Pelting in Soura
Meanwhile, amid the lingering tensions in the Valley, the Home Ministry on Tuesday, 13 August, confirmed media reports of stone-pelting in Srinagar's Soura on 9 August.
A top government official cited by PTI on Tuesday asserted that restrictions in the Valley were put in place to avoid loss of human lives, the foremost priority, and that these impositions on people's movement and communications are being eased out in a phased manner.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)