70-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death in J&K Over Braid Chopping Rumours

Villagers said Abdul Salam Wani succumbed to injuries on his way to a hospital.

A Delhi resident shows where her hair was chopped off when the choti cutting scare took the capital by storm. Image used for representation.

(Photo: The Quint)

Panic over women's hair allegedly being chopped off in the Valley led to the death of a septuagenarian last night after a young man hit him with a stone under the impression that he was the one behind the mysterious incidents.

Residents said Abdul Salam Wani, 70, was hit in Danter village in Anantnag district when he was returning from a mosque after night prayers. They said the man who threw the stone at him thought he was the braid chopper out at night.

The Anantnag police, however, said they were not aware of the incident. "We have not received any complaint or report about the incident," a police official said.

The villagers said Wani succumbed to injuries on his way to a hospital.

Asked why the matter was not reported to the police, a resident said, "It was an accident".

Fear has been spreading across the Valley with women complaining about their hair being cut by unidentified people over the past few days. Vigilante groups have started patrolling neighbourhoods in a bid to prevent such incidents.

The fear has led to mob violence. A young boy was beaten up in the Delina area of Baramulla district earlier this week on the suspicion that he was a braid chopper.

It later transpired that he had come to the neighbourhood to meet a friend.

In another case, two women were beaten up at a wedding on a similar suspicion in the Baba Demb area of the city.

(With inputs from PTI.)