Akash Mehra was shot from point-blank range on February 17 after militants barged into the busy eatery. (PTI)
The 22-year-old son of the owner of a popular eatery in Srinagar lost an 11-day-long fight for survival yesterday after an attack by terrorists. Akash Mehra succumbed to his injuries in the hospital yesterday. He was shot from point-blank range on February 17 after militants barged into the busy eatery. They went straight to the cash counter and shot Mehra in the abdomen.
The eatery comes under the highly guarded Sonawar neighbourhood of Srinagar. The area has been shut since the February 17 attack. According to a report in The Indian Express, Akash was put on life support after his condition deteriorated on Thursday at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment.
A doctor at the hospital said that two bullets pierced his lungs and exited from the back, inflicting severe damage to his lung and rendering critical health conditions.
Police has so far arrested three men in connection with the attack. The men admitted to having carried out the attack on the instruction of South Kashmir-based Lashkar-e-Toiba. Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar had said Akash was attacked because he belonged to Jammu and was a Hindu. Kumar had said that another aim of the attackers could have been to disturb the communal harmony in the region.
The eatery named Krishna Dhaba has been popular among tourists for decades and has been an address for vegetarian food. According to the report, the bereaved family has been sensitive to local issues. The dhaba used to down its shutter whenever separatists called for a shutdown even during peak tourist season.
Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were among senior leaders who expressed their condolences to the family.
Several high-profile institutions like the office of the UN Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan and the residence of the Jammu and Kashmir chief justice come within 200 metres of the dhaba.
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