Police concedes 2 among 6 persons killed in Pahnoo were civilians
Srinagar, Nov 07: Police has said that among the four civilians killed at Pahnoo, Shopian, in March this year, two were “having contacts with militants” while nothing ‘adverse’ has been found against the remaining slain persons.
Responding to the notice by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), SSP Shopian said in total six persons were killed and two of them were Lashkar-e-Toiba militants.
“On March 04, 2018 at around 8:15 pm complainant Major Praveen Menon of 44 RR lodged a written report in police station Shopian to the effect that on the same day by evening army men of his unit were busy in establishing Mobile Vehicle Check Point near Pahnoo school and in the meantime a red Santroo and a sliver Swift VDI cars approached the MVCP and tried to jump over the MVCP,” SSP said in his report.
“The soldiers challenged the occupants of both the cars but they didn’t stop and opened fire from inside the cars upon troops at the MVCP with intention to kill them and in the exchange of fire one militant and probably three OGWs were killed besides one weapon was recovered,” the SSP said, referring to contents made in compliant by the Army Major.
During the course of the investigation, the SSP said, bodies of four persons identified as Amir Ahmed Malik of Hermain, “a militant of Lashkar-e-Toiba”, and Mohammad Shahid Khan of Malikgund, Shopian, Shulak Wagay of Pinjoora and Shahnawaz Ahmed Wagay of Trenz, were recovered from the site of the incident.
On the next day, the SSP said, two more bodies identified as that of Gowhar Ahmed Lone and Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Ashiq Hussain alias Abu Lukmaan of Rakhpora, Kapran, who were injured in the same incident, were also recovered from nearby Pahnoo and Saidpora villages by the people and were buried by them on their own.
“During the investigations, it came to fore that the Swift and another car used by the militants was hijacked by them and they were travelling in the same vehicle when intercepted by the MVCP at Pahnoo,” police report said.
It said during the investigations, it was found that two among the slain person were LeT militants, “while Mohammad Shahid Khan and Gowhar Ahmad Lone were found having contacts with militants and were working as OGWs while nothing adverse was found against other two.”
The petitioner, chairman of International Forum for Justice and Human Rights, Muhammad Ahsan Untoo expressed dissatisfaction over the police reply and said that those travelling in the vehicle have been made “scapegoats and labeled as OGWs.”
“It’s high time that this incident is probed impartially,” he said. (GNS)
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