Jammu, Aug 05: The body of a man shot dead by the security guards posted at the residence of former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah was laid to rest here today amid massive protests.
Hundreds of protesters, carrying the body of Syeed Murfad Shah (25), blocked the Jammu-Bantalab road near his Chinore residence for several hours today.
They demanded that an FIR be registered against the security personnel and the case handed over to the Crime Branch of state police for a thorough probe. The protesters also called for releasing the CCTV footage of the incident.
The government has already ordered a magisterial probe.
According to police, the man rammed his car into the front gate of the residence of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah at Bhatindi in the outskirts of Jammu yesterday, and “vandalised the house” before being shot dead by the CRPF personnel guarding the premises.
Sub-divisional Magistrate, Jammu North, Mohammad Alyas Khan was appointed as the inquiry officer. Speaking to protesters, Khan said he would ensure a ‘fair and transparent’ probe was conducted.
“We want justice for the man who was killed in mysterious circumstances. They are claiming that he crashed his vehicle with the gate before entering the highly guarded residence… Neither the gate nor the vehicle had suffered any damage,” one of the mourners said.
Another said, “the family of the deceased is in the arms trade and run gun shops. The deceased was in constant touch with security personnel deployed in the state for the sale of personal weapons and also helped them to get licenses.
“Mufad usually met security personnel due to his arms trade. The crime scene also suggests that his car was allowed to enter into the house of former chief minister; not a single scratch was noticed on the car nor is there any damage caused to the heavy steel gate. This is evident that it was a cold-blooded murder by security personnel,” said a family friend Sartaj.
Father of the deceased, Imzad Hussain Shah, questioned why his son was shot at rather than being arrested, if at all he had forcibly tried to enter into the Abdullah’s residence.
“I want to know why he was killed. Where were the security guards when he breached the gate? Why didn’t they arrest him?” he asked.
Later, ‘Nimaz-e-Jinazah’ (funeral prayers) was offered and the deceased was laid to rest at a local graveyard.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party patron and executive chairman of State Legal Aid Committee Bhim Singh urged Governor N N Vohra to institute a high power judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court.
“The state Legal Aid Committee has collected evidence and felt that Shah was killed without any cause or reason,” Singh said in a statement here.
“This is also admitted that the deceased had no weapon or anything in his hand or in the car. The facts lead to the conclusion that it was a pre-planned murder,” he added.
Singh said the committee would move the Supreme Court if the Governor failed to hold an independent inquiry into the incident.
