SRINAGAR, July 26: Overruling the Army, defence minister A K Antony has ordered an inquiry into the killing of a youth in Kashmir which triggered violent protests by locals who claimed that he was innocent and was killed in custody.
A 21-year-old youth, Hilal Ahmed Dar’s bullet-ridden body was found by police at Ashtengoo Naar area of Bandipora district, 55 kms North of capital Srinagar.
The army had ruled out any inquiry saying Dar was a militant and that they killed him when he walked into an ambush and fired at soldiers.
“The arms found near his body indicate that he was a militant,” Lt General Om Prakash, General Officer Commanding of the Army’s 15 Corps said in Srinagar.
“For us there is nothing to prove … it is clear. Army is a disciplined force and carries out operations with honesty and integrity.”
The Defence Minister, however, on Thursday directed the Army to conduct a probe and to take strict action against “anyone found guilty”.
‘Repressive Attitude’
Locals have been saying that Dar was killed in “cold blood” by soldiers who got him after he had left home for late-night Ramadhan prayers on Tuesday. They say the youth sported long locks of hair and a beard and could have been easily “mistaken for a militant”.
On Wednesday, thousands of people marched in a procession chanting pro-Islamic slogans, some even pelting stones at the police, towards the Baramulla town, which is observing a shutdown even today (Thursday) to protest the Killing.
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani termed the attitude of the army as “repressive” and called upon people to protest against the “innocent’s killing”.
Meanwhile the police maintained that it may have been a case of mistaken identity. The state authorities have ordered a magisterial probe to check the veracity of all claims about the incident.
