Srinagar: Condemning the killing of a civilian in CRPF firing last night in southern Anantnag district, various political parties on Friday demanded a probe into the incident.
In a statement National Conference president and Member Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah called the use of force by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as undue and unjust.
“As we were yet to come to terms with the loss of precious civilian lives in targeted killings in Srinagar, death of a youth resulting from CRPF firing has put us again down in the dumps. Such incidents will further add to the already brewing sense of insecurity in the people. Forces should ensure strict adherence to required SOPs. Circumstances leading to the unfortunate should be ascertained and guilty brought to justice. I express my sympathies with the victim’s family and pray for eternal peace to the slain youth,” he said.
NC vice-president Omar Abdullah while condemning the killing said, “A heightened state of alert cannot be the reason to open fire like this. Senior officers of the security forces need to ensure calmer heads prevail and nothing happens to worsen the situation. I express my heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved and pray for peace to the soul of the deceased.”
Apni Party president Mohammad Altaf Bukhari in a statement here, said that whatever the circumstances or situations, civilian killings cannot be justified that too by the men in uniform.
“Killing of a person on Monghall bridge who is said to be father of two minor daughters is heart-wrenching. There can be no justification for such reprehensible incidents and my appeal to all, especially the security forces, would be to exercise maximum restraint so that the designs of nefarious elements are defeated in unison,” he said.
Bukhari said that the security forces are trained to ensure calm and they should not fall into the trap of forces inimical to peace, who want to disturb the peace, communal harmony and stability in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Be it the series of civilian killings in Srinagar and Bandipora at the hands of unknown gunmen or killing of a person at Anantnag, nothing can legitimize the killing of civilians irrespective of their religious affiliations or ethnic backgrounds,” he said while asserting that this killing at Anantnag was “totally avoidable” and other measures could have been adopted to thwart his vehicular motion so as to prevent the loss of precious human life.
“We should not lose our temper, particularly in the present tumultuous situation. The whole society across Jammu and Kashmir is in total shock because of the spate of civilian killings and we cannot afford to contribute in deteriorating this situation any further,” Bukhari said.
While strongly condemning the killing of a civilian at a check-post in Monghal area of Anantnag last night, CPI(M) secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik asked the authorities to probe the incident thoroughly to fix the responsibility.
In a statement, issued by the CPI (M) today, Malik said the circumstances in which the civilian was shot dead by security forces need to be probed.
“Losing precious human lives is most unfortunate and mere condemnation of such incidents isn’t enough,” he said.
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family, he demanded compensation to the victim’s family.
A civilian, identified as Parvez Bokda from Larnoo, was shot dead by CRPF personnel in Anantnag district on Thursday night “after the driver of his car did not stop the vehicle at a checkpoint when signalled to do so, officials said.
“A Naka was established by 40Bn CRPF at Monghal Bridge. A suspected vehicle without number was signalled to stop by the Naka party, however, it rushed towards the Naka party. It was then challenged by the on duty troops,” the Kashmir zone police said on Twitter.
“Troops fired upon in self defence in which one person died. But the driver of the vehicle managed to escape from the spot. Identification & credentials of the deceased person is being verified. Investigation is going on,” it had added.
