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Kashmiri Shopkeeper Says Police Wrongly Plastered His Face On 'Wanted' Posters All Over Town

Shocked Kashmiri Shopkeeper Finds His Face On 'Wanted' Posters Because He's A 'Lookalike Of A Militant'

wendigratz.blogspot.com/2011/06/pirate-poster-embroidery-...." data-caption="I love pirates! And the word skullduggery. :-) And I've figured out a way to combine them in one fun embroidery pattern! This Wanted: Dead or Alive poster comes with both boy and girl pirate images (the girl's name is Hurricane Hattie) and instructions for customizing the pattern with your own pirate name! Fun!Pattern and more info at wendigratz.blogspot.com/2011/06/pirate-poster-embroidery-...." data-credit="Wendi Gratz/Flickr">

A Kashmiri shopkeeper was in for the shock of his life when he started getting calls from his friends who told him that his face was plastered all over the town on posters released by the police of militant Abdul Qayoom Najar.

Irfan Shah, a Kupwara-based shopkeeper has accused the Jammu and Kashmir police of "identifying" him as one of the most wanted militants in the valley, according to the the Indian Express.

Reportedly, the police think that Shah is a "lookalike" of Najar, who is believed to be behind the mysterious killings of six civilians over the past one month in Sopore.

"I'm really scared,” Shah told The Tribune. "I learnt about my photo figuring on the posters on Friday when some friends informed me that my picture was being shown on the television as one of the suspects in the series of killings in Sopore. I was surprised to see my picture, which I had taken with my nephew during a picnic last year, on a police poster," he said.

Sopore Killing: J&K man alleges cops identified him as militant in ‘Wanted’ poster I http://t.co/F4yWCWTed3pic.twitter.com/nvBw1MWLB7

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) June 22, 2015

Alarmed, Shah went to the police station with a bunch of his relatives and senior citizens in the town. "The SP contacted his seniors, and even sent my pictures to them. He cautioned me that I should not leave the town at least for one month," Shah said.

"The shopkeeper is actually a lookalike of the wanted militant. If the photograph used in our poster is examined by experts, they will be able to pick out many differences," DIG, North Kashmir, Gareeb Das, said.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.