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Pulwama shuts down in protest against Srinagar encounter
The authorities suspended mobile internet in the two districts to prevent any law and order situation.
Normal life was crippled in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district as shops were closed in protest against the killings of three youth in an encounter with security forces in Srinagar on Wednesday.
The authorities suspended mobile internet in the two districts to prevent any law and order situation.
Three youths identified as Zubair Ahmad of Turkawangam in Shopian, Ajaz Maqbool and Athar Mushtaq, of Putrigam in Pulwama were killed in Srinagar in the early hours of Wednesday in an “encounter”, with the Army and police claiming that they were terrorists planning a big strike along the Srinagar-Baramulla highway.
However, their families have rebutted the claim of security forces and said that they were civilians.
A letter by Aijaz’s family seeking his body and an inquiry into his death written to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha was shared by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Twitter.
“The deceased was not remotely connected with any anti-national activities and the question of joining militancy does not arise. The killing is very brutal and calculated one which is against the law of land and also hits the democracy and Indian Constitution,” the letter said.
The police have said that the trio was not mentioned in their list of terrorists, yet two of them are “hardcore associates of terrorists (OGWs)”.
“Pertinently, one of the two killed youths is a relative of top HM commander Rayees Kachroo who was killed in 2017. Reportedly, the third might have joined militancy very recently. Generally, parents don’t have an idea about the activities of their wards. Several overground workers after committing terror crimes don’t disclose it to their family,” police said in a statement.
Residents of Pulwama said that the shops were closed in the main town against the killings while the internet was suspended in both Pulwama and Shopian districts.
PDP president meets families of youth killed in encounter
Mainstream political parties and leaders of Kashmir have also raised questions over the encounter.
“Met families of the young men killed in the Lawaypora encounter. Forget justice, even their bodies are not being returned to them for the last rites. They have lost their beloved sons forever and in the midst of grief have to plead even for closure,” she said on Twitter.
Her party said that the allegations of fake encounters are returning in the Valley and wanted a time-bound inquiry. “Once again the allegations of a dark era of staged encounters like the ‘90s are back in vogue. An unprecedented level of insecurity has gripped the people of Kashmir. The administration should take serious cognizance of allegations and swiftly order a time-bound inquiry,” the party said in a statement.
CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami wanted a probe by a sitting judge. “There are unverified reports that they were killed in a fake encounter. If true, this is shocking and must be probed by a sitting high court judge. The circumstances in which the killings happened need to be thoroughly probed,” he said.
Apni Party president Syed Altaf Bukhari also expressed concern stating that the claims by families have created misgivings about the veracity of the Srinagar encounter.
“The version of families of the slain trio is contradictory to what the army and the police claim about the Hokersar encounter. So, the government must clear the air and remove the misgivings about the same,” he told a local news agency.
Separatist Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that such killings are heart-wrenching ad demanded a probe into the killings. “Such incidents warrant a fair and impartial probe be held, as the families of the killed youth are demanding, to get to the truth but in Kashmir, this basic right to justice and redressal is a distant dream,” the party said in a statement.
