2 min readJammuJul 20, 2026 10:26 PM IST
The Jammu & Kashmir administration on Monday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the death of a local youth in alleged police firing in Bhaderwah’s Jai area last week.
The order, issued by Doda District Magistrate Krishan Lal, comes two days after police set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Police have registered an “open” FIR against unknown persons for attempted murder, voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to a public servant to deter them from discharging duty, assault on a public servant, theft and other offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to police, 30-year-old auto driver Arif Hussain from Cheeka village in Doda was fatally shot during a scuffle between police personnel and alleged cattle smugglers in the picturesque Jai Valley near Bhaderwah in Doda district last Thursday night.
While police have not issued a detailed statement on the circumstances surrounding Hussain’s death, sources said the incident occurred after police were questioning some people at a checkpoint following a tip-off about alleged bovine smuggling.
According to police, some suspects allegedly attacked the team, and Hussain was seriously injured in an accidental discharge during the ensuing scuffle. He later died on the way to hospital, with his family demanding an independent investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Police claimed three other policemen were also injured in the attack.
The death triggered protests and a shutdown in Doda and Kishtwar districts, and mobile internet remains suspended.
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Arif is survived by his pregnant wife, mother and a minor child. His father, Mohammad Iqbal, a former special police officer, was brutally killed by terrorists in March 1999.