SIT formed to probe civilian killings in J&K's Rajouri

Two civilians – Surinder Kumar and Kamal Kumar – were shot dead and a third, Anil Kumar, was injured on Friday morning near the gate of an army facility in Rajouri.

Jammu and Kashmir Police announced on Tuesday that it has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the killing of two civilians outside an army camp in Rajouri town last week, amid widespread outrage over the controversial deaths.

Family members and relatives mourn near the body of a local youth who was killed in alleged firing by sentry of an army camp, in Rajouri. (PTI)

The two civilians – Surinder Kumar and Kamal Kumar – were shot dead and a third, Anil Kumar, was injured on Friday morning near the gate of an army facility in Jammu’s Rajouri town. Soon after the incident, angry local residents blocked the Jammu-Poonch highway and some threw stones at the military facility.

The Army’s Nagrota-based 16 Corps issued a tweet shortly after the incident and attributed the gunfire to “unidentified terrorists”, but, in a handwritten letter with the signatures of the district administration, police and a senior army official, the corps assured compensation for those killed and added that “wrongful tweets” would be deleted.

Local residents say that a sentry opened fire in a case of mistaken identity but officials have refused to confirm this allegation.

The five-member SIT was constituted by Rajouri Poonch range deputy inspector general of police, Haseeb Mughal. It will work under the supervision of senior superintendent of police (SSP) Choudhary Mohammad Aslam and will be headed by deputy superintendent of police (headquarters) Chanchal Singh.

“I will be supervising the progress. Though no deadline has been given to the SIT, the probe report will be submitted at the earliest,” Aslam said.

Surinder Kumar, 40, and Kamal Kishore, 39, were both residents of Falyana in Rajouri town. Anil Kumar, 39, of Ranikhet in Uttarakhand is undergoing treatment at the government medical hospital in Rajouri.

The kin of the deceased had demanded adequate compensation, permanent jobs to the two widows in a military hospital, free education to their children till graduation and a judicial probe into the matter.

Police later registered an open first information report (FIR) under sections 302, 307 and Indian Arms Act.

Lieutenant general Manoj Sinha has already announced an ex-gratia relief of ₹5 lakh each for the kin of two men.