Police book army for tying man to jeep as human shield in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir have registered a case against the Indian army for tying a man to a military jeep as a "human shield" against stone-pelting protesters during by-polls in the northern state last week.

"A First Information Report (legal term for police case) has been filed against the Indian army for the act. We are also mulling to include charges like abduction and endangering the life of the man in the report," a senior police official said Monday, on condition of anonymity.

The police case was filed after a video of the incident went viral, drawing widespread condemnation and forcing Kashmir's Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to seek a detailed report from the state police about the conduct of the Indian army in the state during by-elections held last week.

In fact, the video was reportedly shot in the Beerwah area of Budgam district, where miscreants tried to disrupt polling during last week's by-poll to Srinagar parliamentary constituency by pelting stones at the security forces.

The video shows the Indian army jeep moving ahead of an army patrol, while some villagers could be overheard that the youth had been picked by the security forces. The man, identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, was tied to the fender of the jeep acted as a shield and was not harmed.

Eight people died and nearly 100 were injured in unprecedented violence during the Srinagar by-polls held in the shadow of threats and a boycott call by separatists. Electronic voting machines were damaged and burnt and the voters' turnout was the worst in 30 years. Endit