Doctor Saved Many In Clash During J&K Encounter; His Son Was Only Casualty
SRINAGAR: Dr Abdul Gani Khan had quietly retired to his residential quarter after a distressing day attending to people injured in a clash with security forces during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.
No sooner had he reached his residence, Dr Khan received a call to urgently return to the district hospital in Pulwama.
Little did he know who he was to attend to. He had seen so much blood and suffering through the day it seemed impossible for him to comprehend the situation.
When he reached the hospital building, he was informed his son had died in the clash and the body was brought to the hospital.
Faizan Ahmad Khan, 16, was among the people injured in the clash between stone-throwers and security forces during the encounter with terrorists in Thamuna village on Friday.
He was rushed to a hospital in Rajpora in critical condition but doctors there feared he would not survive and referred him to the district hospital, where his father practices.
"Doctors at the Rajpora hospital informed us after they recognized Faizan. They also told us he might not make it (to the district hospital)," Dr Rashid Parra, medical superintendent of the district hospital, said.
"We tried our best to revive him when he was brought to the district hospital, but unfortunately there were no signs of life in him," Dr Parra said.
It was then that Dr Parra and other hospital staffers decided to call Dr Khan from his residential quarter.
"Faizan was born at this hospital and spent his childhood in the hospital campus. We called Khan without telling him about his son and then kept him in a room as we wrapped Faizan's body in a shroud," Dr Parra said.
Surrounded by his colleagues at the hospital, Dr Khan was informed about his son's death.
"He went to the casualty ward to see his son and broke down instantly. We all were in tears...," the medical superintendent said.
"Fate had brought Faizan to the same hospital to be declared dead where he was born," he added.
Faizan's body was later taken to his ancestral home in Ladoo village of the district for last rites.
A Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was killed during the encounter in Thamuna village yesterday. Police said today initial reports had suggested three terrorists were killed but two of them apparently escaped during the security operation.
courtesy : ndtv.com
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Davanagere South bypoll: Cong Muslim leaders allege internal conspiracy to defeat party candidate
Bengaluru (PTI): A rift within the Karnataka Congress surfaced on Friday, a day after the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in the state, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged a "conspiracy" by some of their own senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
However, they asserted that despite efforts by some within to project that Congress "betrayed" Muslims, the party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun will win in Davanagere South, the constituency where the community has a significant presence.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders addressed a joint press conference regarding this at the party office here.
"It is a sad thing that some senior leaders of our own party have conspired to defeat the Congress, despite this minorities have voted for the Congress. KPCC President (D K Shivakumar), the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) and the AICC General Secretary (Randeep Singh Surjewala) are aware of this. People have voted for Congress, its ideology and its five guarantee schemes," Ahmed said.
Noting that Samath Mallikarjun was given a ticket after taking all minority leaders of the party into confidence and following their consent, he said, "But after that because of some misconceptions, conspiracies have been hatched. But still, I'm confident that Congress candidate Samarth will win".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership regarding attempts for "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not indicate who they were accusing. Several party sources said their attack was directed at Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, among a few others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, had initially stayed away from campaigning in the segment, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities. However, he addressed a press meet along with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
MLA Arshad said that there was a massive social media campaign against the Congress party, by the BJP, SDPI and Independents, alleging "betrayal" of the minorities by the Congress. Some within the party, too, tried to project the same.
"We indeed demanded a ticket for the minority, and the party considered it. However, since we, as minority leaders, had to provide a unanimous candidate, we only put forward Abdul Jabbar's name because he is the MLC from the region, and he also pressured us. I think we first failed there, as ground-level party workers did not accept it and some other leaders believed he wasn't that popular," he said.
Arshad noted that the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate "after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence".
"However, some of us Muslim leaders who worked for the party's official candidate were projected as anti-Muslim on social media," he claimed.
Some leaders who accepted the party's decision to nominate Samarth as the party candidate during the meeting called to decide it later showed indirect signs of resistance, he said. "An attempt was made by others, including some within the Congress, to project that the Congress has betrayed the Muslims. This has caused us pain."
Bypolls for Davanagere South were held along with Bagalkot on Thursday. The election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti respectively.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, there are apprehensions within the party about a split in votes, which could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community strongly demanded the Congress ticket for Davanagere South. Some party factions had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress was successful in persuading rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the contest, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
