Srinagar: Shahnawaz Ali, a 24-year-old resident of Saida Kadal area of Srinagar city, was married in November last year and today he is in bed with his injured eye. Two days ago, he became another victim of a pellet shotgun after police fired at the mourners during Muharram procession in Srinagar.
"There was a Muharram procession and there was no stone pelleting. But the police fired pellets and one pellet hit my right eye. I was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery but the doctors were not successful in removing the pellet. The pellet is still there in my eye and it hurts a lot," Ali told ETV Bharat.
Speaking about medical services at the hospital, he said, "They did not show much interest. Junior doctors used to come and check me and nothing else. Then I was advised to go out to Jammu and Kashmir for further treatment. I am poor and cannot afford it."
Ali, an auto-rickshaw driver, brought new auto in 2018 and that too was on loan. His father sells vegetables on a handcart. Ali also has a younger sister.
"I was not in the procession. I was selling vegetables at Dalgate chowk when I got a call that my son has been hit during the procession and has been taken to the hospital," said Mohammad Ameen, Ali's father.
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"His surgery was underway when I reached the hospital," Ameen said, adding, "I am not satisfied with the hospital staff. We are all worried. Look at the condition of his mother. Now, the doctors have advised us to take him out but there is not much scope. I appeal to my Kashmiri people. If they can provide some financial support, I will be able to treat my only son."
Last month, a report released by the United Nations said that "in 2020, a total of 39 children became pellet victims in Kashmir and among them, eight died."
In the annual UN report, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over "serious violations" in Kashmir and called on the Indian government to stop using shotgun pellets against children.
According to data compiled by government and non-government organizations, pellet shotguns were introduced in Kashmir in 2010 to quell mass protests and as a result, about 20,000 people have become pellet victims in the valley so far.
