The incident, which was overshadowed by the killing of five youths by CRPF (four of them were killed on the forenoon of September 7), occurred immediately after the music maestro Zubin Mehta had concluded his performance before the ‘VIPs’ at Shalimar garden.

Iqbal was driving his sister Sabreena and her friend to their home at Mochua near Baghe Mehtab here. The girls had to appear in the examination at a school in Khanyar, and Iqbal had burrowed the car of his friend Aijaz, who was also accompanying him, to pick-and-drop them.

Here is what happened, according to Iqbal, on the September 7 evening.

“As I crossed the traffic signal near Lala Rukh Hotel and drove towards Budshah bridge, a white car (Ambassador) of some government department was coming from the opposite direction, and its driver jumped the traffic signal to take a sharp right turn towards the Ganta Ghar. The Ambassador hit our car, and sped away.

“I lost control over the steering. I and Aijaz were trying hard to regain control of the car. I wanted to stop and catch hold of that Ambassador to demand compensation, but suddenly there were gunshots. Before we could understand what had happened, a bullet hit my right leg and our car overturned.

“In a jiffy, the CRPF and policemen cordoned our car and brought me out of it.  Without asking any questions, they straightaway started firing at my legs. They fired repeatedly till I fell down on the road in a pool of blood and left.”

Many people from the neighbouring Maisuma locality who poured onto the streets immediately after the incident shifted Iqbal to the SMHS Hospital where doctors removed two bullets from his left leg and one from the right. Iqbal was later shifted to Bone and Joints hospital Barzulla here and then to the SKIMS—where he spoke to media on Wednesday—for specialized care of his shattered bones.
But there appears little hope of his complete recovery.

“Doctors say we will have to wait for his wounds to heal before plastic surgery can be conducted on his legs. It means at least two months of bed-ridden life for him,” said Iqbal’s younger brother Aamir Sheikh.

“Even after that, there is little hope that he can walk normally again. Bullets have shattered the bones of both his legs,” Aamir said, displaying the X-ray that clearly reflects the damage caused to Iqbal’s legs. “Our other brother Mudasir is undergoing police training. He wants to quit to help the family in taking care of Iqbal.”
The police had initially, reportedly, stated that the investigations were going on into the incident even as the CRPF has maintained complete silence. However, police, CRPF or the government are yet to explain the facts related to the incident while Iqbal, father of a two and half year-old boy, may be handicapped forever.

Courtesy: Kashmir Reader