Srinagar (J-K): For Pervez Sufi Ahmad, a simple thought of venturing out of his residence has become a haunting memory!
Nearly a month ago, Ahmad was riddled with shotgun pellets, one of the most preferred crowd controlling methods in the valley.
On a fateful day, Ahmad had gone out of his home to check on some disturbances in the neighbourhood and in the process he was hit by a hail of pellets.
He fell unconscious even before he could enter his house.
Ahmad was immediately hospitalised and weeks after the incident, he is yet to overcome the trauma.
Though Ahmad has returned home after the treatment, he has not recovered completely.
He still cannot walk and use his left hand properly.
"I was not involved in protests or any kind of stone-pelting incident, but still became a victim of pellets," he said while speaking to ETV Bharat.
It may be recalled that in 2010, India instituted the use of pellet guns to control protestors violently clashing with the police in Jammu and Kashmir.
The use of pellet cartridges was criticized by several NGOs, with the Amnesty International terming its use for crowd control as 'inherently inaccurate', owing to the injuries caused by it.
It has been 21 days, since the modification of Article 370, has affected the lives of the people in the valley. There has also been a communication blackout since then with a curfew imposed in Kashmir.
