SRINAGAR: The police in Kashmir say three among the four youth killed in CRPF firing in Shopian district of south Kashmir on Saturday were civilians. Only one was a militant, they say.
They had earlier said that two of the slain persons were militants who had attacked a camp of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF in Gagren area.
However the authorities are still silent on what exactly happened and how the civilians died.
In a statement issued Monday evening, the police said they are still investigating the incident, but added three of the slain youth “do not have any previous record of militancy.”
They identified them as Tawseef Ahmad Bhat resident of Baba Mohalla Shopian, Mohammad Yousf Sofi resident of Durpora,Zainapora, Shopian and Tariq Ahmad Mir resident of Okay, Kulgam.
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However the fourth “non-local looking person”, neither claimed nor identified by any local, is a member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba militant group, the statement added.
“The evidence collected from the spot and subsequent verifications suggest that he is Abdullah Haroon of LeT.” The police say one pistol, two grenades and a diary were recovered from the spot of the firing.
“Besides, the mobile phone recovered from his pocket contains a video clip showing weapons snatched from police and CRPF personnel in the incidents of Arwani and Awnera Shopian.”
Massive Outrage
The incident two days ago has caused outrage in the valley where a shutdown was observed on Sunday over a call by senior separatist, Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Separatists and Shopian residents insist all the four slain youth were civilians. A local news agency quoted an eyewitness woman as saying that she saw CRPF soldiers shooting dead three locals besides a non-local mason.
Interesting, even pro-India political parties including the main opposition PDP have condemned the killing of the four youth in “unprovoked firing” by the CRPF.
“Dubbing them as militants is like rubbing salt into the wounds of their families,” said Mehbooba Mufti, president of the PDP.
Authorities in Kashmir have said they will call for an inquiry only “if need arose”.
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