More than a year after a Kashmiri truck driver was shot dead in north Kashmir’s Baramulla, the National Human Rights Commission of India has taken up the case. Lawyers said this marked the first instance since the abrogation of Article 370 in which the Commission has acted in a matter involving the armed forces in the Valley.
The NHRC registered the case under number 49/9/3/2026-AF following a complaint by Delhi-based lawyer Tamanna Pankaj regarding the killing of truck driver Waseem Ahmad Mir, who was from Goripora Bomai in Sopore, Baramulla district. The complaint had earlier been entered separately under the category of alleged fake encounters.
Pankaj said she was informed by the NHRC via email that the case had been formally registered. In her complaint, she stated that Mir was transporting apple boxes when he was asked to stop at a checkpoint in north Kashmir. Citing the Army’s version, she said the truck was pursued for around 23 kilometres before being intercepted near Sangrama Chowk, Maktoob Media reported.
According to the official account, security personnel opened fire at the vehicle’s tyres after it allegedly ignored repeated stop signals, and later said the intention was only to halt the truck safely. However, the family disputed this version, maintaining that Mir was a civilian with no involvement in any illegal activity. The complaint also said doctors at Government Medical College Baramulla indicated that the gunshot wound appeared to be from close range, which did not align with the claim that only the tyres were targeted.
The complaint said the incident pointed to possible excessive use of force and human rights violations. Police sources had earlier claimed that the truck, bearing registration number JK 03 G2567, failed to stop despite signals. Mir, the son of Abdul Majeed Mir from Goripora Bomai, was declared dead on arrival at the Baramulla medical college.
The killing led to protests in Sopore and other parts of Baramulla, with local leaders and residents alleging that a civilian had been deliberately targeted and questioning the value placed on Kashmiri lives. Pankaj said the NHRC’s move was significant, noting that accountability of security forces has often been under scrutiny in the post–Article 370 period.