The youth, identified as Waseem Ahmad of Shrakwara village The youth, identified as Waseem Ahmad of Shrakwara village

Police have registered a case of attempt to murder after a mob allegedly tried to set a mentally unstable person on fire in Sopore town on the suspicion that he was a braid chopper. According to police, a crowd of more than 500 people caught hold of a mentally unstable youth at Mazbough Sopore on Friday morning. The youth, identified as Waseem Ahmad of Shrakwara village, was accused of being a braid chopper and severely beaten up, said police, adding that the mob tried to set him ablaze before police rescued him.

Sopore SP Harmeet Singh said police rushed to the spot after receiving information that a mob was trying to set ablaze a youth on the suspicion that he is a braid chopper. “When police teams reached the spot, the mob had already lit a fire and were planning to set the youth ablaze.’’ The youth was taken to the sub-district hospital in Sopore and later shifted to Srinagar for treatment.

Singh said that during the investigation, they came to know that the youth was mentally unstable. “We called his family to the hospital. Doctors advised that he be shifted to Srinagar.’’

He said that some people from the mob had alleged that the youth wandered in the area at night but probe revealed the charge as false. “We have identified people involved… A case has been registered against them.’’

The separatists have called a strike on Saturday, calling such incidents a ploy of Indian agencies against Kashmiri women.

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