Police sources said the auto driver killed in Doda was ferrying men with alleged cattle-smuggling cases when a constable's weapon accidentally discharged during a scuffle. (Representative image)Arif Hussain, whose death in police firing led to protests across Doda and neighbouring Bhaderwah, with the district administration suspending mobile Internet, may have paid a price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.An autorickshaw driver from Doda’s Cheeka village, Hussain had been hired by some customers to drive them to a tourist place in Bhaderwah. He was coming back with the men when they were stopped by police in the early hours of July 16-17.Hussain is survived by his pregnant wife and three-year-old son.Sources in police, which is yet to issue an official statement, say a checkpoint had been set up following an alert about possible cattle smuggling in the area. And that when the vehicle with Hussain was stopped, men inside who had faced allegations of cattle smuggling in the past tried to attack them and snatch their weapons. Hussain, they add, was hit by a stray bullet when a constable’s automatic weapon “discharged accidentally”.Two inquiries have since been ordered, one by police and another by District Magistrate Krishan Lal.Hussain’s uncle Amjad Hussain told The Indian Express that hours before the incident, he had called home asking his wife to keep some dinner for him. Instead, it were police that came knocking, Amjad said. “They came at 2:30 am (on July 17) and told us Arif was in a hospital in Bhaderwah and was injured.”The 30-year-old was already dead, having passed away on the way to the hospital.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Police unearth network ‘smuggling cows from UP to Bengal for slaughter’, trace Rs 80-100 cr transactionsFive people who were in the vehicle with Hussain have been apprehended, with officials claiming most of them have previous cattle-smuggling cases against them. Two of them have been detained previously under the Public Safety Act, officials said.Police have also filed an open FIR against unknown people for attempted murder, voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to a public servant to deter them from discharging duty, assault on a public servant, theft and other offences.The family says Hussain had left home on July 9, after he was hired by some local traders for a leisure trip to Jai Valley. “They offered Rs 10,000-11,000 to him to take them to some picnic spots,” said Amjad.Also Read | Cattle being transported for ‘slaughter’ rescued near Varanasi toll plaza, 5 arrestedLocated at a height of about 7,000 feet, about 32 km from Bhaderwah town, Jai Valley is a known picnic spot, popular among trekkers and campers for its big green meadows, dense pine forests, and the meandering Jai Nallah.Story continues below this adThe family says Hussain left his auto at home, and told his wife he would be back in a few days. With connection patchy in Jai Valley, the family knew he would not be in regular touch.On the night of July 16, Hussain called up wife Muniba Bi, telling her he was returning and would have dinner. “Muniba waited till 11 pm, and when he didn’t return, went to sleep,” said Amjad. Then, the police came.The family says Hussain had a tough life, having lost his father Mohammad Iqbal when he was just 3, in brutal circumstances. A Special Police Officer, Iqbal was killed by militants in March 1999, and his body hanged from a tree outside his house.Hussain studied till Class 12, and then began working driving an auto.