Pellet Horror Continues : Chadoora teenager 65th to lose both eyes

27 Persons Fired With Pellets In One Month

On Monday, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a teenager from Chadoora in Central Kashmir was fired with pellets in both his eyes by security forces, making him the 65th victim losing both eyes to the deadly pellets of security forces since July 2016. As many as 27 people have been fired with pellets from March this year.
As per hospital records at least 27 persons, mostly young boys, were admitted to SMHS Hospital with pellet injuries in one or both eyes from March 9. A welder by profession, 18 year-old Sheikh was injured Monday afternoon when security forces fired a volley of pellets in his face and eyes. He is the 65th person who faces the threat of losing vision in both eyes to the pellet injuries in a span of nine months in Kashmir.
Doctors at the hospital who were checking the condition of his eyes advise him to keep eyes clean and tell his family that they would have to wait to see what the outcome of the injury would be. Horror and misery written on his face, Sheikh nods his head and lies down silently in his hospital bed.
A senior Ophthalmologist says, “His right eye is devastated. There is hardly any hope of vision recovery in that. His left eye is also bad, but we might try something on that.” He adds, “He has multiple pellets damaging his retina and other vital vision areas. That’s what pellets do.”
Despite uproar on the “epidemic of dead eyes,” security forces have continued to use pellets in Kashmir. As per records at SMHS Hospital, 1028 people with pellets in eyes have been treated since July 9, 2016 up to April 3, 2017, after large scale protests broke out across Kashmir following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani.
In less than a month, four teenagers have lost both eyes to pellets. On March 9, three Pulwama civilians identified as Riyaz Ahmed 18, Yasir Hussain 19 and Showkat Hussain 18 were hit in both eyes with pellets.
Doctors said that even after months, due to the severe trauma pellets had caused, victims are struggling with surgeries to get their vision back. “That is just not possible – to get the pre-injury vision,” doctors said.
As per records, those losing vision to pellets are mostly teenagers. Although over 170 victims, officials said, are minors aged less than 15, many girls and women have also lost their eye-sight to this deadly weapon. At least 14 people have lost their life due to injuries caused by pellet guns.
Doctors have expressed their concern over the toll on the psyche of the pellet victims and said that most were yet to “get back to their lives”. “Their lives have been devastated. Victims have dropped out of studies, occupations” a psychiatrist at SMHS Hospital said. He added victims frustrated with the outcomes of the treatment and refusing to accept that pellets have blinded them forever are visiting hospitals in other states.
Ophthalmologists at SMHS Hospital have maintained that even after spending huge amounts, and visiting many doctors, pellet victims were returning to SMHS Hospital. “Nowhere in the world is it possible that they can get their vision back. We are trying our best and we have better results here,” doctors said.
Earlier this year, the state government told the Assembly that there was no plan to ban the pellet guns. “The pump action gun or pellet gun is being used in the situations where all other means of dispersing furious mobs get ineffective,” the government had replied to a query from Opposition.