New Delhi: A two-year-old photo of a Kashmiri boy being made to do sit-ups on a Srinagar street by security personnel has gained currency on social media once again, with an actor tweeting it with the “KashmirBleeds” hashtag.
The hashtag has gained traction on social media for posts related to the ongoing situation in Kashmir, where a communication lockdown continues two months after the scrapping of Article 370.
Mona Ambegaonkar, who has over 11,000 followers, posted the photo with a scathing comment on the alleged injustice perpetrated by security forces against Kashmiris. Her tweet had 415 likes and 276 retweets by Saturday afternoon.
#KashmirBleeds So many armed men with so much protective gear and one unarmed child.
So macho, na? So much integration, na? This is how they will love #India na? Cowards & Psychopaths in charge of a country rapidly becoming a land of cowards & psychopaths en mass. pic.twitter.com/KzEyMvAPpa— Mona Ambegaonkar (@MonaAmbegaonkar) October 2, 2019
The image was also used by the Pakistani daily Dawn last month for a news report titled “Pakistan rejects India’s efforts to portray ‘normalcy; in occupied Kashmir”. The photo has also been shared by hundreds of people on Facebook and other social media platforms.
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Incident had stoked controversy in 2017
The image is from a controversial incident that occurred in Srinagar on 29 March 2017, when 11-year-old Mir Mehran was forced to do sit-ups by paramilitary personnel during a strike.
When the episode triggered a furore, Central Reserve Police Force spokesperson Bhavesh Chaudhary promised an investigation. “We’ll check it out and identify the troops. If there has been any wrongdoing, action will be taken,” he added.