Sixteen-year-old Tanveer Ahmad’s pellet-riddled face has become a defining image of police action on Muharram processions in Kashmir this y...
Sixteen-year-old Tanveer Ahmad’s pellet-riddled face has become a defining image of police action on Muharram processions in Kashmir this year.
The Class 10 student, who studies in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, had been home since March because of the Covid-19 lockdown. On the morning of August 29, he was part of a procession in the Bemina area of Srinagar.
“Everything was peaceful – we were following all the SOPs [standard operating procedures],” said Aijaz Ahmad, a relative and neighbour of the teenager in Bemina. He was referring to precautionary measures to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.
August 29 was Ashura, the 10th and most significant day of Muharram, a month of mourning for Shia Muslims. According to Aijaz Ahmad, elders in the community had told the police about the limited procession in Bemina and assured them that they would follow all the safety protocols for Covid-19.
“We had masks and sanitisers, and kept a distance from one another throughout the procession,” said Aijaz Ahmad, who was there when Tanveer Ahmad was hit by shotgun pellets. “When we reached the Bemina main chowk, the police stopped us and started spraying tear-gas and pellets.”
Tanveer Ahmad was initially taken to a local charity hospital...
