Delhi Blast Case: Neighbour of arrested doctor dies after self-immolation

Srinagar: In a tragic incident, a 55-year-old man from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district allegedly committed suicide after setting himself on fire, days after his son and brother were detained for questioning in connection with the Delhi car bomb blast case. The man was a neighbour of one of the alleged members of the terror module.

The deceased, a dry fruits seller from Wanpora village in Qazigund, attempted self-immolation on Sunday morning. He was taken to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar with critical burn injuries and succumbed on Monday.

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As per the Indian Express news report, the deceased man was a neighbour of the doctor who was arrested earlier this month from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly being part of the “white-collar” terror module linked to the blast in Delhi.

Because he lived next to the accused doctor, the police investigating the case picked up the man, his brother, and his son for questioning. His family said that the man’s son, a college student, was taken by the police four days earlier, while his brother, a physics teacher, was picked up two days ago. On Saturday morning, the man himself was called to the Qazigund police station.

He returned home later that night, but his son and brother were still in police custody. The family said he looked very disturbed, did not speak to anyone, and could barely walk.

On Sunday morning, he woke up, went outside, took petrol from the car, poured it on himself, and set himself on fire. He was rushed to SKIMS hospital and was in critical condition, but he succumbed to the burn injuries on Monday.

After his death, the man’s sister-in-law urged the administration to release their detained family members. She said he felt deeply humiliated after his son and brother were taken in for questioning. She appealed for justice, saying they only shared a neighbourhood with the accused doctor and had no involvement in any of his alleged activities.

In response, Kulgam Superintendent of Police Kulgam Anayat Ali Chowdhary said, "We had not detained him as there was no case against him. When his son was picked up, we called him and took details. We let him go at that moment only. None of his family members are being detained by Kulgam police."

Reacting to the incident, former J&K chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said in a post on 'X', "This level of high-handedness only deepens wounds and breeds despair. When young men are picked up randomly, we risk driving an entire generation into fear, frustration & ultimately towards darker paths."

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