Srinagar, (The Telegraph): One of the two Kashmiri truckers attacked with a firebomb in Jammu following cow slaughter rumours died in a Delhi hospital this morning, triggering violent protests in parts of the Valley.
Zahid Ahmad Bhat, 20, died of his 70 per cent burns at Safdarjang Hospital where the other victim, Showkat Ahmad Dar, is battling 40 per cent burns.
Both had been shifted to Delhi after the October 9 attack in Udhampur district, when a petrol bomb was thrown inside their stationary truck as they slept at night.
Sometime earlier, the discovery of three cattle carcasses in Udhampur had led to rumours of cow slaughter although district magistrate Shahid Iqbal Chowdhary later said the cattle had died natural deaths.
Protests broke out in south Kashmir after the news of Zahid's death reached his village, Batingo, with hundreds of stone-throwing young men clashing with the security forces. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowds, which shouted pro-independence slogans.
As the separatists called a shutdown tomorrow and Opposition politicians linked the attack to ruling partner BJP, chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed promised punishment for those guilty of this "barbaric crime". Udhampur police have arrested nine men.
Showkat's father Ghulam Mohammad Dar said: "He (Zahid) died early today while my son is undergoing treatment in Delhi. I'm praying for my son's life."#Both young men were helpers of the truck driver, who too was inside the truck but escaped unhurt.
Eyewitnesses said hundreds had rushed to Zahid's home today to express solidarity with the family. Both victims' families have returned the state government's cash relief of Rs 10,000 each plus an air ticket to Delhi, describing it as meagre.
The attack had come amid a controversy over a decades-old ban on cattle slaughter and beef in the state.
Last month, the state high court had directed the administration to enforce the ban but a full bench last week asked the state government to review the law, citing its potential to disturb social peace.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah today pointed a finger at the ruling People's Democratic Party's coalition partner.
"Another needless death in the name of beef ban for which the BJP and its affiliates including allies are directly responsible," he tweeted.
"The Honourable PM passed the buck on to Akhilesh Yadav and the UP government for Dadri. Who will he blame for Zahid death now?"
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik held "the so-called rulers of Jammu and Kashmir responsible for this murder". "In their lust for power they have handed over Jammu and Kashmir to fanatics," he said.
Chief minister Sayeed condemned the "politics of hate and intolerance that is posing a grave challenge to the state and country's plurality".
"I have no words to condemn the dastardly act which consumed the life of a poor and innocent young boy for no fault of his," he said.
Sayeed, who had visited the Delhi hospital on October 14, said the two families would be provided government jobs.
