GLOOMY HAQEEQAT CRPF FIRING KILLS FOUR IN SHOPIAN WHEN ‘EHSAAS-E-KASHMIR’ HAPPENED AT SHALIMAR

THE KASHMIR SCENARIO EXCLUSIVE
SHOPIAN, SEPTEMBER 9: In all its blood-soaked futility, the last two decades of Kashmir turmoil has seen a few novel touches by singers, politicians, artists, journalists and diplomats. Every time situation swings back to normalcy, a few intellectuals or musicians visit the valley to ‘heal the wounds’ of Kashmiris. And every time the dignitaries come, countryside erupts with incidents of violence with the needle of suspicion pointing towards the establishment.
The previous Saturday Zubin Mehta was to perform at the Shalimar Bagh on the banks of the World-famous Dal Lake. Everyone in the administration was jubilant that an event of such a magnitude happened despite bouts of resistance by pro-kashmiri separatists and the general populace of Kashmir. An elitist gathering of around 1500 souls listened to the compositions of renowned composers like Beethoven, the maestro Zubin Mehta imitated so well.
However, it was not the only sound that was heard in the valley. In the countryside four bikers-all of them civilians- were gunned down by a unit of Central Reserve Police Force for failing to stop at their camp at Gagren area in South Kashmir’s Shopian district. The four youth, all busy with the daily chores of life, were killed in cold blood and later termed militants.
On Monday police said three out of four youth killed in the CRPF firing – Tawseef Ahmad Bhat of Baba Mohalla Shopian, Muhammad Yousuf Sofi of Durpora, Zainapora, Shopian and Tariq Ahmad Mir of Wukai Kulgam – were civilians and had no previous record of militancy. The police, however, was quick to add that the fourth slain person was a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant.
The killings triggered massive protests in Shopian town and the adjoining villages. Hundreds of people came out on the streets amid pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. In some villages announcements were made on loudspeakers asking people to come out on the streets and protests.
“They were killed in cold blood. They were killed for they did not pay any heed to the orders of CRPF men to stop at a bunker. The youth were known bikers in the area and had no record of militancy. The accused CRPF troopers must be arrested immediately, “said a youth who claimed to be an eye witness to the incident.
The incident also triggered fierce clashes between the locals and the police. At Meemandar village protestors were seen pelting stones at the police. The reports of fierce clashes continue to pour in from Villages of Gagren, Nagbal and Zainapora. The adjoining district of Pulwama also witnessed massive clashes between the protestors and the police.
While the local populace tried to receive the dead bodies of the local youth, police did not allow the same initially.
“We smelled something fishy as police was reluctant to hand over the dead bodies to us. It was a fake encounter. The bikers simply refused to stop at the bunker of CRPF and the CRPF opened fire killing the four innocent youth,” said a protestor Mudasir.
The CPRF while refuting the claim of the police said that all the four slain youth were militants and they were killed in retaliatory firing.
“CRPF men do not kill at will. Our unit must have come under attack from the militants. The militants were killed in retaliatory fire,” a senior source in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) told The Kashmir Scenario.
Barely four days after killing four civilians and injuring one at Gagran village here in South Kashmir district, paramilitary CRPF men of Gagran camp on Wednesday shot dead one more youth while injuring two others in another incident of “unprovoked” firing. The incident triggered massive protests in which at least a dozen people including four women were injured.
Muhammad Rafi rather of Saidapora village was killed at around 4 p.m. He received two bullets in the upper part of his body. The deceased, according to eye witnesses, was going to his in-laws house in Shopian town and while he was passing by the camp, the CRPF personnel resorted to indiscriminate firing killing him on spot.
Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani while condemning the incident said that it was the most gruesome cold blooded murder.
“It is a cold blooded murder. The youth were civilians who were killed brutally,” a statement from Syed Ali Shah Geelani said.
In the wake of the ‘Shopian Chalo’ call by the veteran separatist leader on Tuesday, authorities imposed tough security restrictions in most parts of south Kashmir on Tuesday to foil “Shopian Chalo” call given by by Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani against recent killings in South Kashmir.
Police and CRPF men armed with sophisticated weapons and anti-riot gears were deployed in Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama districts. All the entry and exit points were sealed and no vehicular or pedestrian movement was allowed.
Reports said CRPF men went berserk in many parts of Kulgam and Pulwama districts.
“The CRPF personnel went on a rampage in most parts of Kulgam town since Sunday. They vandalized public property and thrashed many people, the locals of Kulgam alleged. CRPF men did not even spare the patients, who were being ferried to the hospitals,” said residents of the area.
The residents of Pulwama town also accused CRPF men of smashing the window panes of several houses.
“They also beat up several inmates,” a senior resident of Pulwama town told The Kashmir Scenario.
Despite tough restrictions, clashes broke out in many parts of Shopian town including Baba Mohalla, Malik Mohalla, AliyarPora and Gagren areas. Police and CRPF men fired tear smoke shells and resorted to baton charge to disperse the protestors, who retaliated by hurling stones towards them. The clashes continued for some time.
While the leaders of the ruling National Conference maintained an eerie silence on the issue, the senior most leader of the Pradesh Congress Committee, Saifuddin Soz while maintaining that the killed youth were innocent said that a time-bound inquiry must be initiated in this regard.
“I strongly condemn the unfortunate incident in which security forces killed four youth in Shopian. It is a deplorable act and is highly painful. I make a strongly plea with the state government to share the verified facts with the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Soz said in a statement.
Shoaib Lone of the same party maintained that the statement of Saifuddin Soz, The Pradesh Congress Committee Chief was the official statement of the State Congress.
“The statement of Saifudin Soz is the statement of the state congress. I believe a time-bound inquiry must be initiated in this regard. The perpetrators must be brought to book,” Shoib Lone told The Kashmir Scenario.
The President of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also asked the government to register an FIR in the incident and stressed that the guilty be punished.
Muzaffar Ahmad Shah, senior Vice-President of Awami National Conference while condemning the killings said that the silence of the current coalition government in the state speaks volumes about their callousness.
“It is a highly condemnable act. At a time when the Police are saying that the killed youth had no militancy background the silence of the current coalition government is shameful. I demand that a First Information Report (FIR) be registered against the accused cops. Time has come to repeal the draconian Armed Force Special Powers Act (AFSPA). This law can be revoked by passing a resolution in state Assembly. If Omar Abdullah is really keen to repeal this law then why does not he move a resolution to this effect in the State Assembly,” an angry Muzaffar Shah told The Kashmir Scenario.
A senior teacher at the University of Kashmir, on conditions of anonymity, said that the current coalition is cornered badly and it is buying time and waiting for things to turn normal again.
“The National Conference lead government is on the back foot. They are buying time. There is nothing new in their silence. No pro-active steps are being taken by the current government to see a speedy improvement in the situation. They are just buying time and waiting for things to turn to normalcy again,” said a senior at the University of Kashmir while pleading anonymity.
The Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq filed a petition before State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) seeking an impartial probe through a judicial officer in Gagran killings in Shopian and Badshah Chowk firing incident involving CRPF personnel.
The Hurriyat Conference has also demanded immediate arrest and stern punishment for the guilty CRPF men and monetary compensation for the victims who were targeted by the CRPF according to the petition.
The petition which was filed by APHC legal cell head, Abdul Manan Bukhari, has also sought immediate FIR into the incident under 302 and 304 RPC against the CRPF troopers involved in killing of four youth and injuring two other in separate incidents at Shopian and Gagran.
The petition has demanded SHRC to conduct time-bound impartial probe into the incident within seven days. The petition has sought ten lakh rupees compensations for the next of kin killed persons while five lakh rupees for the injured. It has further stressed upon the SHRC to take serious notice of the increasing rights violation in Jammu and Kashmir.
APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has called a joint meeting of the Hurriyat executive and general council on Tuesday to discuss the Gagran killings and worsening rights situation in Kashmir.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had earlier also appealed to the people of Kashmir to observe the previous Friday as Black Day.
While the state cabinet has ordered shifting of the CRPF camp from Gagren, it remains to be seen whether a time-bound inquiry in to the incident would take place or not.
State government fresh from the ‘Ehsaas-e-Kashmir’ euphoria might find it a hard slog to bring things to normalcy.