Trucker injured in petrol bomb attack dies

Zahid Ahmed, the conductor of a truck injured in a petrol bomb attack in Udhampur on October 9, succumbed to injuries at Safdurjung Hospital here this morning.
Police and hospital sources said that Zahid, who was admitted to the burns ward of the hospital with 74 per cent burns, breathed his last at 11.30 after his condition worsened in the last 12 hours.
Zahid, a resident of Anantnag in South Kashmir, was conductor of the truck that was en route to Kashmir when a mob attacked it with petrol bombs on October 9. The driver of the truck Showkat Ahmed is admitted to the hospital.

The entire incident has been recorded on CCTV and two attackers were arrested immediately by the policemen deployed on patrolling duty.
Later two more persons were arrested and a manhunt was launched for three others.
The arrested included Harish Katoch Bal Bahadur, Sandoor Singh and Suneet Singh. All are residents of Udhampur in Jammu region.

Two persons first broke the front glass of the truck and later threw a petrol bomb inside the truck on October 9 night.
The two along with a cleaner were sleeping inside the truck at the time of the incident and Showkat and Zahid sustained burns while the cleaner, Rameez, escaped unhurt as he managed to jump out of the truck.

The truck was on its way to Srinagar from Jammu and was stationary near Shiv Nagar area as traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was stopped in view of the a strike called by various Hindu outfits following recovery of three carcasses of animals in the district.