Man Whose Family is Being Questioned Dies by Suicide, Third Kashmiri Civilian Death over 'Terror Module' Case
Srinagar: A south Kashmir resident who set himself on fire after his son and brother were questioned by police in connection with the Faridabad ‘terror module’ case succumbed at a hospital in Srinagar on Monday (November 17), officials said.
Reports said that Bilal Ahmad Wani, a dry-fruit trader based in Qazigund area of south Kashmir, set himself on fire on Sunday (November 16) after returning from a police station in Qazigund where his son Jasir Bilal and brother Nabeel Ahmad are being questioned by police.
Ahmad, a teacher, and Bilal were detained last week in connection with the Faridabad probe following a spate of raids across Kashmir. Both continue to remain in detention.
After returning from the police station on Saturday (November 15), Wani’s family told the media that he was visibly shaken and couldn’t even walk properly. He attempted to die by suicide on Sunday.
“He had 70-80% burn injuries and passed away last night,” Dr Andleeb Bashir, medical superintendent of Srinagar’s Sri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital where the victim was taken, told The Wire.
It is the third instance of death of a civilian from Kashmir in connection with what the J&K police have described as an “interstate and transnational terror module” whose suspected hideout in Haryana’s Faridabad was busted on November 10.
Hours after both Faridabad police and J&K police announced the bust, a Hyundai i20 car exploded in a crowded old Delhi area near Red Fort, killing at least 13 civilians while more than two dozen civilians were injured.
The probe of the Red Fort blast has been taken over by the National Investigation Agency.
The Faridabad case is being investigated by J&K police including sleuths from the Nowgam police station and the State Investigation Agency.
According to reports, Wani, the dry fruit trader from Qazigund in south Kashmir and the latest Kashmiri casualty, is a neighbour of Dr Adil Ahmad Rather, one of the suspects arrested in the ‘terror module’ case from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur.
Naseema Akhtar, Wani’s sister-in-law, told local reporters that several people have been detained in the area on the allegations of links with Rather.
'If one person commits a mistake, does it mean everyone is a culprit?'
“If one person commits a mistake, does it mean everyone is a culprit? We are a respected family and he felt humiliated because of which he took the extreme step,” Akhtar said, urging the administration to stop the spate of detentions in the area.
The J&K police have also arrested Dr Muzzamil Shakeel Ganie, a resident of Koil village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, in connection with the case.
Koil is the native village of Dr Umar Nabi, believed by investigators to be the driver of the car which blew up near Red Fort on November 10.
There has been no official confirmation of the link between the Faridabad ‘terror module’ case and the Red Fort blast so far.
A tailor from Srinagar, father of three and the lone breadwinner of his family died in a massive blast at Nowgam police station on Friday (November 14) night in the ‘terror module’ case.
The J&K police said that the blast which shook the summer capital and the adjoining Pulwama district was triggered when investigators were preparing exhibits from around 2,900 kg stockpile of explosives and other material recovered from Faridabad.
According to family, Mohammad Shafi Parray, a private tailor, was hired by investigators to stitch up the exhibits of the Faridabad ‘terror haul’ when the blast took place at around 11:20 on Friday night.
Director general of J&K police Nalin Prabhat has ruled out any foul play in the blast.
Earlier, Bilal Ahmad Masood, a tribal resident of Ganderbal district in central Kashmir who had been making a living near the Red Fort area for some years has been confirmed as one of the civilian casualties in the Red Fort blast.
If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. Icall, a counselling service run by TISS, has maintained a crowdsourced list of therapists across the country. You could also take them to the nearest hospital.
This article went live on November seventeenth, two thousand twenty five, at four minutes past four in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
