Srinagar, Mar 20: Expressing grief on the death of Riyaz Pandith in police custody, Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone today blamed it on lack of accountability patronized by two traditional parties to safeguard their own interests.
“The killing of a school teacher in police custody is unacceptable in a democratic setup and must be condemned in strongest of terms. It is imperative for the Governor administration to conduct a fair and transparent inquiry into the reasons that led to this unfortunate incident and punish those involved,” Lone said in a statement here.
“For people to be able to have belief in the system, justice must not only be done but seen to be done as well,” he said while condemning the killing.
Lone said that the “culture of impunity and lack of accountability” started by two “traditional political parties” and their failure to hold erring police officers in the past accountable has led to normalization of excesses.
“The failure of NC and PDP to hold culprits to account is partly responsible for the death of Riyaz Asad Pandith. This culture of immunity and impunity has to end for people to have any trust in the system. The judicial inquiry ordered in this incident has to be time-bound and reach its final conclusion because the way these two parties have used judicial probes to cool down tempers and buy time,” he added.
Lone said that NC’s “opportunistic politics” and the party’s insatiable thirst for power at any cost have been borne by the people of Kashmir over the past many decades.
“The election of 1987, which was rigged to impose NC on the people of Kashmir, was a collective murder that has spread over three bloody decades and cost us nearly one lakh innocent lives till now. It pushed the youth away from the mainstream and forced them to pick up the gun. NC’s thirst for power in 1987 and 1996 elections threw the state into the throes of turmoil and suffering,” he added.
