The father who set himself ablaze in south Kashmir’s Qazigund on Sunday, after police allegedly denied his request to meet his detained son, has succumbed to his injuries at a Srinagar hospital, where he had been admitted with nearly 90% burns.
Bilal Ahmad Wani, a dry-fruit vendor, set himself on fire on Sunday after his son Jasir Bilal and brother Naveel Wani were detained by the police. He was initially treated in Anantnag before being shifted to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar, where he succumbed to his injuries, officials said.
He and his son are neighbours of Dr Adeel Rather, who was arrested in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with a suspected terror module. Adeel’s brother, Dr Muzaffar, is reportedly absconding.
Earlier, former chief minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti had posted on X, alleging that Wani had pleaded with the authorities “just to see them, but this was denied,” adding that “this level of high-handedness only deepens wounds and breeds despair,” and warning that when young men are picked up “randomly,” it risks pushing an entire generation “towards darker paths.”
She urged the Jammu & Kashmir Police to at least allow the family to meet the detained members.
Former Srinagar Mayor and Minister of State Junaid Azim Mattu said the tragedy reflected a “guilt-by-association approach” that has become an “official investigative mechanism,” arguing that the law requires innocence to be presumed unless guilt is proven.
“When you begin with the assumption of guilt simply because someone is a neighbour or a relative of an accused, you toss the safeguards of law out,” he said, stressing that even in J&K, the rule of law and constitutional norms must prevail.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti said the Government of India must choose between “stoking alienation by seeing all Kashmiris as terrorists” or adopting a “humane, compassionate approach that does not invalidate their dignity,” adding that “collective punishment cannot be the solution.”
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan also expressed concern, saying it was “very sad that the Red Fort terror investigation is being used to pick up and torture people,” reflecting how agencies are functioning.
Meanwhile, security agencies have detained several people across Kashmir in the ongoing investigation. On Sunday, the Counter Intelligence Kashmir unit conducted searches at the residence of a doctor in Anantnag as part of the operation, officials said.
