Medical authorities rubbish Indian claims of teen’s death in occupied Kashmir

Asrar's death certificate cites 'pellet injury with shell blast injury' as the cause of demise

Medical authorities have rubbished Indian claims surrounding the death of Kashmiri teenager Asrar Ahmad Khan in occupied Kashmir, reported TRT World.

The death certificate issued states the cause of death as “pellet injury with shell blast injury”.

The teenager was struck by a tear gas canister and then shot in the face with a pellet gun by the occupying forces.

The 17-year-old was killed in an unprovoked attack while he was playing cricket in a park in Srinagar, added the Turkish publication. Eyewitnesses say that a paramilitary convoy comprising eight vehicles pulled up to the park. Six vehicles moved on but Indian security personnel poured out from the two remaining vehicles.

The Indian troops, after dismounting from their vehicles, fired a tear gas shell which struck the teenager in the head, said Asrar's father.

Media, the sole deterrent in Kashmir

The teenager's cousins and friends, who were with him on the day, insist the attack was unprovoked and that it was not in retaliation to a protest.

His cousin, Adil Ahmad, added that after he was hit by the canister, Asrar was further struck by a hail of shotgun pellets fired by Indian forces.

Asrar died after 29 days and his funeral was held in the same park where he was initially wounded.

Indian authorities who are imposing a draconian curfew in the occupied valley claimed he was struck by a stone.

Even though the blackout in communication makes it difficult for Asrar’s family to challenge the false narrative, medical records clearly dispute the Indian side's story.

Asrar’s x-rays also show dozens of pellets embedded in his skull and a picture of the teenager taken soon after the attack shows his face pockmarked with fresh pellet-sized scars.