A day after a 22-year-old Thirumani from Tamil Nadu got caught in a stone-pelting incident and succumbed to his injuries in the Narbal area of Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, his body will be flown back to Chennai on Tuesday evening.
The body of Thirumani will be flown from Srinagar to Delhi, and then from Delhi to Chennai. Thirumani used to work for a private company in Chennai. His father, Rajwali works with the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment under the DRDO in Avadi.
Rajwali, his wife Selvi, Thirumani and his sister Sangeeta decided to go to Kashmir for summer vacation. His elder brother was still in Chennai. The family was travelling on the Gulmarg-Srinagar road along with seven other families in a bus, when they were caught in the stone pelting.
During the attack, Thirumani and Selvi were injured, and were rushed to the nearest hospital, where Thirumani succumbed to his injuries. Thirumani was admitted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science with injuries to his nose and forehead. He was reportedly in a coma for a few hours.
A girl from Handwara, Sabreena, was also injured during the stone-pelting.
A case has been registered at the Magam Police Station under Sections 148, 247, 307 and 336 of the Jammu and Kashmir Ranbir Penal Code.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was seen consoling Thirumani's father at the hospital. In a video taken from the hospital, the father can be heard telling the CM, "We came only yesterday. He was in the vehicle, people were throwing stones. It hit him here (points at head). It had hit the ear. He lost a lot of blood."
The death of Thirumani elicited reactions from all quarters.
In a late night tweet on Monday, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote, “We’ve killed a tourist by throwing stones at the vehicle he was travelling in. Let’s try and wrap our heads around the fact that we stoned a tourist, a guest, to death while we glorify these stone pelters & their methods.”
“Absolutely unfortunate. For a tourist to be killed, it's absolutely condemnable,” said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The incident comes a week after tourists from Kerala were caught up in similar violence in the valley on April 30.
Read: 22-year-old tourist from TN killed in Kashmir stone pelting violence
