Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir police chief, Dilbag Singh on Thursday said that those killed in Hyderpora gunfight were not innocents and that there was strong evidence available against them. He also said that Jammu and Kashmir police was a professional force and didn’t need lessons from anyone.
Kashmir News Agency (KNO), a local news agency reported that Director General of Police (DGP), while addressing media, said that a special investigation team was constituted by Kashmir Zone Police to investigate the Hyderpora gunfight. “We must give them some time to make specific comments. However, I would like to say with full authority that the police is doing its work professionally and our officers know how to conduct operations. We don’t want lessons on conducting operations from the people who are unaware of how the operations are being carried out,” DGP said while replying to a question.
Claiming that the civilians, who were killed in Hyderpora gunfight were ‘not innocents’, DGP said, “There are very strong evidences available in this case and will be shared with all the concerned very soon. The ‘so called innocent civilians’ are taking the foreign militant out for a recce on motorbike, picking up targets and you call them innocent.”
He further said that the “foreign militant (Pakistani national) who was moving around in the City with a weapon was responsible for shooting a policeman and that policeman recognized him, as he fired at him from very close range. Our investigation is in progress, which is suggesting very much that the militant (Pakistani) has a militant network around him, which was supporting him. We will see who is involved to what extent and the same information will be shared at the right time,” DGP said, as per KNO.
While reacting to the comments regarding apprehensions on operations carried out for the last two weeks, he said that “this is politics and Mehbooba should stop it.” Pertinently, Mehbooba Mufti had questioned the intentions behind these ‘encounters.’ Singh also added that some people from Civil Society and social media were making claims which remain far from the reality.
“This is high time people accept reality without mixing it with their imagination,” he said. “Yesterday three militants were killed in the Rambagh encounter. Srinagar resident Meehran was chief among them and all three are responsible for so many innocent civilian killings including School teachers Supinder Kaur and Deepak Chan Mehra, police SI Arshad and many grenade firing incidents,” he said, adding that “those who try to show them as innocents are enemies of humanity.”
These comments come in relation to the Rambagh encounters which have created a storm in the political circles of the Valley.
On recent civilian killings, the DGP said that police was pursuing each and every case.
“More than 20 militants involved in civilian killings have been killed so far. Only Basit of Kulgam is absconding right now and security forces are after him, he will be soon taken to task,” the DGP said.
On the term ‘Hybrid militant’, the DGP said that these militants look like normal school going boys or office goers but can pick up a gun anytime to kill anyone.
