Govt Directs Police to Come clear On Fourth Youth, Shot Dead on Saturday;
SRINAGAR: The government in Jammu and Kashmir has ordered removal of CRPF personnel from the camp in Gagren village where five people have been shot dead since Saturday.
It has directed the state police chief to replace them with a contingent of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police.
The cabinet, which met in Srinagar under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday, has also expressed “grave concern” over the recent incidents of violence in Shopian.
One youth was shot dead by the CRPF in the village yesterday amid a shutdown called by separatists over the killing of four youth by the CRPF last Saturday.
The government has appointed the deputy Commissioner, Shopian, as the inquiry officer into both the incidents.
Bihari Labourer Dubbed As Militant?
The CRPF maintains that all the four youth were militants who had attacked the camp that day. Police have said three of them were civilians while the fourth was a non-local militant of the Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfit.
Residents, separatists and even many pro-India political parties have, however, challenged claims by the CRPF and the police.
A senior Congress leader, Ghulam Hassan Khan, has claimed that the fourth was a labourer from the Indian state of Bihar. He said the CRPF shot him dead because he had been an eyewitness to the three youths killings.
An official spokesman said the cabinet also took stock of the police investigation into the Saturday’s incident. “It noted with dismay that there is no clarity on the facts of the case even after five days of the incident.”
The cabinet has directed the Police to determine the facts of the case, “including the identity of the so far un-identified deceased person,” within the next 48 hours.
“A Judicial inquiry, to be conducted by a sitting judge of the High Court, may be ordered, thereafter, in case the facts are not established,” the spokesman added.
