J&K boils as youth dies in police action

Confusion over Handwara: Was it Army or police firing

One more Kashmiri youth died in police action on Wednesday as protests against the killing of three persons in Tuesday’s firing in Handwara turned violent across the Valley. At least 110 policemen and two CRPF jawans were injured in Wednesday’s clashes, officials said.

Reports said protests broke out in Dragmulla area in the vicinity of Handwara in Kupwara district on Wednesday. The police fired teargas shells to quell the stone-throwing crowds, and one of these hit a protester, later identified as Jehangir Ahmed Wani, in the head, resulting in his death, reports said.

Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said “disproportionate use of force for crowd control results in loss of precious lives and grave injuries, which should be avoided at all costs”. She expressed grief over the “unfortunate tragic death” of the young man, and extended her condolences to the bereaved family.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ms Mufti met defence minister Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi to discuss Tuesday’s Army firing on protesters in Handwara. “In the meeting, the CM urged a time-bound inquiry into the incident so that those responsible for the deaths are given exemplary punishment. This, she said, will act as a deterrent against such incidents in future,” an official release said.

It said the defence minister had assured Ms Mufti of a detailed time-bound probe to fix responsibility in the firing incident.

On Wednesday, GOC-in-C Northern Command Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, accompanied by Srinagar-based Chinar Corps commander Lt. Gen. Satish Dua, visited Handwara and interacted with officers and soldiers on Tuesday’s incident. Te-rming it “highly regrettable”, Lt. Gen. Hooda as-ked for early completion of the inquiry ordered by the Army earlier. The Army also offered to take care of the expenses for hospital care and rehabilitation of those hurt in the incident, a defence spokesman said in Srinagar.

Strangely, the circumstances in which Tuesday’s firing took place in Handwara, in which three persons including a woman were killed and a few others were injured, is getting murkier, as some residents alleged it was the local police which had targeted civilians with direct fire, while Army personnel had fired their weapons mainly in the air.

Local elders and other citizens held a meeting Wednesday with senior police and administration officials, when they claimed, on the basis of “eyewitness accounts”, that while Army personnel had swung into action to disperse the crowd following an alleged attempt to molest a local girl student, it was the J&K police who opened direct fire on them, killing a youth on the spot and critically injuring two others.

They also said the firing was so reckless that an elderly woman, Raja Begum, was hit in the head even though she was standing some distance away and was not part of the protest. After hearing them, the police placed an ASI, Muhammad Rafiq, under suspension for “negligence of duty”. This was on the basis of a formal letter to the police by Kupwara’s district magistrate. The families of the two slain youth told this newspaper it was ASI Rafiq who had killed them in cold blood.

Reports from across the Valley said violent protests were held in several parts of Kupwara, Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. A police statement said “miscreants” attacked a police post at Magam (Handwara), extensively damaging the building. A 2000-strong mob targeted the police post at Langaete and also torched a shed within the premises.

The state’s main Opposition parties, including Omar Abdullah’s National Conference, and the separatists hit out at CM Mehbooba Mufti for “shedding crocodile tears”, and alleged that the security forces had gone on a killing spree, targeting innocent Kashmiris. Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and JKLF chief Muhammad Yasin Malik said protest strike in the Valley against the Handwara killings on Wednesday would continue on Thursday to mourn and protest against the death of another youth “at the hands of brutes”.

On Wednesday, while a security clampdown was in force in most of Srinagar as hundreds of police and CRPF personnel fanned out overnight to prevent violence, members of the Sikh community were allowed to visit gurdwaras and the Mughal Gardens to celebrate Baisakhi.

Shops and other businesses remained closed while public transport was off the roads in Srinagar and elsewhere. Baisakhi is an official holiday in schools and government offices. Officials said security restrictions were enforced in six police station areas of Srinagar and confirmed that these didn’t apply to Sikhs, “who are free to move about in areas placed under restrictions because of Baisakhi”.

Handwara, 72 km from Srinagar, was under indefinite curfew since Tuesday night. The local police detained dozens of youth after Tuesday’s clashes and sealed the town after laying concertina razor wire on roads leading to it, reports said.

In New Delhi, the Centre on Wednesday reviewed the law and order situation in J&K while students who have left the Srinagar NIT campus for now, after clashes between local and outstation students, met home minister Rajnath Singh and put various demands, including shifting of the campus out of Srinagar, before him. But CM Mehbooba Mufti made it clear Tuesday no such demand will be met.

On Wednesday, before a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ms Mufti played down reports about any animosity between local and outstation students at NIT, saying her government will ensure the security of all those studying in the Valley. “They are our children. These are our children. It is our job to provide them security. I am confident they will come back, Kashmir is their home,” Ms Mehbooba said. “These students have been living there for years. We can’t separate people over an incident. I am hopeful they will come back,” she said.