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‘Accidental’ fire from minister’s revolver injures 2
Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 3
The “accidental” fire from the loaded revolver of Javed Mustafa Mir, the minister of state for rural development and information technology in the Jammu and Kashmir government left two employees, one of them a woman, injured at the high security Jammu airport here today.

This is yet another incident in a series involving the minister and his revolver.

While the police have been maintaining that it was an accidental fire, the airport authorities held that it was still not clear as how it happened. The incident occurred at around 4.30 pm in the afternoon when the minister checked in with his luggage for his journey to Delhi in Jetlite flight.

During the X-ray scanning at the airport, the security personnel detected the revolver in his luggage. The security officials insisted that he could not carry it along. The minister reportedly argued that it was a licensed revolver and nobody should have any objections. A little altercation also took place between the minister, known for his short temper, and the security officials.

He reportedly claimed that the revolver was not loaded. The revolver was taken out from the luggage after the security staff insisted. While being taken out from the luggage it reportedly “misfired” leading to injuries to two employees there.

It could not be ascertained whether the revolver went off accidentally in the hands of the security staff or the minister himself. The injured have been identified as Roop Lal and Abhilasha. Both of them were rushed to the hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger.

Interestingly, no case has been registered so far. While any other person would have been detained and subjected to thorough interrogation, the minister was allowed to board the flight for his journey to Delhi without any questioning. At the airport, the police tried to make out as if nothing had happened and everything was normal. However, the resentment was writ large among the employees and staff of various airlines who appeared shaken and scared.

This is not for the first time that the minister has been involved in such controversies with his revolver. Once he went inside the state legislature carrying his pistol along with him prompting the opposition National Conference legislators to remark that they could not ask questions to him lest he fired at them.

In an earlier incident, Mir had injured his leg when his revolver went off accidentally at his official residence. In another incident in Mohalla Dalpatian in Jammu, he tried to chase a militant who had hurled a grenade at him. He had escaped unhurt while some people were injured in the incident.

In yet another incident in his home constituency Chadoora, he had pointed a pistol at the crowd, which had followed him after he allegedly slapped an elderly person. This had provoked the crowd to set fire to his two vehicles.

Mir is the son of former minister late Mir Mustafa, who was assassinated by the militants during the beginning of the insurgency. One of his brothers, Bilal Mir had joined the militancy and was killed by the security forces. He represents Chadoora assembly segment in Kashmir valley from where he was elected on the ticket of People’s Democratic Party.

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