Islamic terrorists on Monday gunned down a Kashmiri salesman, Mohammad Ibrahim Khan (45) in the old city area of Srinagar. Khan worked as a salesman at a grocery shop run by a Kashmiri Pandit in Bohri Kadal.
The salesman who was shot in the chest and abdomen succumbed to the injuries during treatment.
However, the victim’s family has claimed that their son was killed by ‘mistake’, as the terrorists actually wanted to kill the Kashmiri Pandit shopowner. Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul posted a video on Twitter where the family members are heard saying that since the businessman was away, terrorists thought Ibrahim Khan is the owner of the shop and killed him instead.
Last night a Kashmiri Muslim salesman Ibrahim Khan was killed by terrorists in Srinagar. Family members now say terrorists wanted to kill his employer a Kashmiri Pandit businessman. Since the businessman was away, terrorists killed Ibrahim Khan by mistake as per the family. pic.twitter.com/BGwin5oqXU
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) November 9, 2021
‘I will not leave Kashmir’
The shop owner Dr Sandeep Mawa was well aware of the ploy and was alerted by the police. In an exclusive interaction with News18, Dr Mawa revealed, “I have an XUV (vehicle). I got a call around 3 in the afternoon from the police that I could be targeted. So, I left home in my small car.”
Narrating the case of mistaken identity, Mawa said, “Ibrahim (Khan) went to take my XUV from the store around 8 pm. The terrorist was lurking there in the dark. He thought it was me and pumped four bullets in him (Khan).” A guilt-ridden Mawa said, “I don’t know how to face his family. It feels as if I am responsible for his death.”
However, Mawa said that he will not leave Kashmir due to fear of terrorists. “I will not leave (Kashmir) and be silenced by the gun,” asserted Mawa whose father was shot at by the terrorists in the 1990s.
“My father is in Delhi. I am in Srinagar with my wife and two children. They are very scared after the latest incident but I am trying to convince them,” Mawa said further.
Mawa’s family had resettled in Jammu and Delhi after his father was shot by terrorists, however, he decided to return to Kashmir in 2019 with his family.
‘Father and son the real target’
Defunct terrorist group Muslim Janbaz Force has taken the responsibility for killing Khan. In an unsigned letter, the Islamic terrorists confessed that the father-son (Sandeep Mawa and his father Roshan Lal Mawa) were the real targets as they are working for the ‘Indian agencies.’
“They were involved in bringing non-locals to Kashmir,” the letter read.
Second killing post-Diwali
This was the second killing by terrorists in the valley post the festival of Diwali. A day before Khan was gunned down, the terrorists had killed the 29-year-old police constable Tawseef Ahmad Wani in the Batamaloo area.
Srinagar has been on high alert since the month of October after as many as 10 Hindu civilians were murdered by Islamic terrorists. The Centre has deployed additional 5,000 paramilitary personnel in the valley.
Candle light protest in Srinagar
The Councillors of Srinagar Municipal Corporation on Tuesday had carried out a candle light protest against the recent killings of civilians in the valley.
J&K: A candle light protest was held at Lal Chowk in Srinagar today against the recent killings of civilians by terrorists in Kashmir. The protest was organized by Councillors of Srinagar Municipal Corporation. pic.twitter.com/Cvj9aCjQz5
— ANI (@ANI) November 9, 2021
The protest was held at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
