J&K truck driver ‘fails’ to stop at checkpost, killed in Army firing

A truck driver was killed in Army firing when he allegedly refused to stop his vehicle at a checkpost in Baramulla district “despite repeated warnings”, officials said on Thursday.

The incident drew widespread condemnation from political parties in the Valley. The police have registered an FIR and begun investigation.

According to Army officials, the incident took place at Chunad village on the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway. Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said based on a specific intelligence input about movement of terrorists, a checkpost was established by security forces on Wednesday.

“One speeding civil truck was spotted. When challenged, the truck driver didn’t stop despite repeated warnings. He instead accelerated while crossing the checkpost,” the Army said.

It said the troops pursued the vehicle for over 23 km.

“Shots were fired aiming at tyres to deflate which forced the vehicle to halt at Sangrama Chowk,” said the Army, adding that the injured driver was immediately taken to Government Medical College (GMC), Baramulla, where he was declared dead.

“The fully-loaded truck has been sent to the nearest police station. A detailed search of the truck in police custody is underway and investigation of antecedents of the suspect is in progress,” the Army said.

Sources said the truck driver had been identified as Waseem Ahmad, a resident of Sopore. After issuing a similar statement, the police said a case had been registered. “A post-mortem examination has been initiated to ascertain the cause of death,” it said.

A doctor at the GMC told The Tribune that the deceased had one bullet injury and was declared “brought dead” by duty doctors. Police sources said no “adverse” record of the driver had come to the fore so far in the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile, family members of the driver have demanded an investigation into the incident. “He had no links with militancy, his record was clean… we want a fair investigation,” a family member said, adding that the driver had left home around 10 pm on Wednesday with a fruit-laden truck for Kolkata.

Political parties have criticised the incident.

“How strange that after chasing the truck for over 23 km, they claimed to have fired at the tyres but somehow misfired at him instead. Are Kashmiri lives so cheap? How long will you justify this unbridled impunity by pointing everyone with the needle of suspicion,” PDP leader Iltija Mufti posted on X.

Jammu and Kashmir Apni party chief Altaf Bukhari said there was a need for a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances under which the incident occurred.

CPM leader MY Tarigami said, “The unfortunate incident could have been easily prevented with a more cautious approach instead of a trigger-happy response.”

Condemning the killing, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra said, “Such incidents are detrimental to peace initiatives.”

People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone termed the driver’s killing a murder.