A CRPF driver who has been booked by the Jammu and Kashmir police after his vehicle mowed down three civilians, killing one, on Friday in Srinagar, has said that he was blinded by a barrage of stones after it came under attack by stone pelters.

"The crowd had overpowered the vehicle, shaking it violently. I was blinded by a barrage of stones, and my car was shaking, I did not realise that someone had come under the wheel," Vishal Ji Pawar, who has been driving for CRPF for a year, told India Today.

Three men were injured after they were allegedly hit by a CRPF vehicle during clashes between protesters and security forces in Nowhatta area of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. One of the men, 21-year-old Kaiser Bhat, later succumbed to his injuries.

The state police has booked unidentified stone-pelters for attempt to murder and rioting while it charged the CRPF driver with rash driving after the death of the man.

The clash took place on June 1 after Friday prayers ended at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar's Nowhatta area. A group of youths had started pelting stones at the security forces, with some of them attacking a CRPF vehicle.

While a picture initially circulated on social media showing three men under the CRPF vehicle, video clips that surfaced soon after showed how the vehicle had come under intense stone pelting.

Pawar said the situation was worse than what looks in the video.

"It is much worse than it looks on video. It was the worst day of my life," he said.

SS Yadav, who was sitting next to Pawar when the vehicle came under attack, said this was a matter of survival.

"I have faced stone pelting earlier also, but never like this. For us, it became a matter of survival. I had placed my hand on the gun. But in my heart I was praying that I wouldn't have to pull the trigger," Yadav said.

The mob had also tried to pull out Yadav as the driver stopped briefly amid the heavy stone pelting.

"They tried to pull me out but luckily the CRPF soldier behind me forced the door shut. I knew the gun was not an option, there would be casualties. No one would have fired till I said so," Yadav recalled.