Police on Friday exhumed body of another "fake" encounter victim Nazir Ahmad Deka of Kokernag at Saloora in Ganderbal. The body was exhumed in presence of two-member team of forensic experts from Chandigarh.
Deka’s wife Tasleema, 3-year old daughter Aneesa and 18 month old son Amaar and other relatives were also present there. However the body had reduced to mere skeleton and could not be identified properly. The forensic experts have collected samples of the slain civilian and his relatives for establishing the identity.
35-year old Nazir, who was a perfume-vendor, was picked up by some plain clothed men at Lal Chowk on February 16, last year. His whereabouts were not known since then. His family lodged FIR in police station Kothibagh in Srinagar.
Sources said that the police team investigating the killing of Abdul Rahman Paddar, whose body was exhumed from a graveyard at Sumbal on Thursday, got clues about Deka during interrogation of SOG men involved in the killing of Paddar.
Constable Farooq Ahmad Paddar, who is alleged to be the main character in planning the killing of Paddar, is reported to have told his interrogators that Deka was killed in fake encounter in Ganderbal in the intervening night of February 16 and 17 and buried in a graveyard at Saloora village as unidentified Pakistani commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Over ten thousand people gathered in the village on Friday as the body was being exhumed. They held massive protest demonstrations and shouted slogans against police. They wanted death for the SOG men involved in the killing of civilian. Police resorted to cane charge and fired some shots in air to disperse the protestors.
Constable Farooq Ahmad Paddar, who is alleged to be the main character in planning the killing of Paddar, is reported to have told his interrogators that Deka was killed in fake encounter in Ganderbal in the intervening night of February 16 and 17 and buried in a graveyard at Saloora village as unidentified Pakistani commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Over ten thousand people gathered in the village on Friday as the body was being exhumed. They held massive protest demonstrations and shouted slogans against police. They wanted death for the SOG men involved in the killing of civilian. Police resorted to cane charge and fired some shots in air to disperse the protestors.
However, the situation went out of control when the demonstrators broke the cordon around the graveyard and snatched the body of Deka. They later returned the body to the authorities after two hours. The body was taken to the local hospital where forensic experts collected samples for identification.
Sources said that the arrested policemen have admitted to have killed two other civilians—Ali Mohammad Paddar of Larnoo Kokernag and Shoukat Ahmad Khan of Doligam Banihal. The two were done to death in the same pattern and were buried in a graveyard at Bazipora Ajas in Banipora. Sources said that the bodies of both the slain civilians would be exhumed for DNA test.
Sources said that the exhumation could be deferred for some days as the public anger was running high and police was finding it difficult to control the agitated mobs.
Shoukat was Imam of a mosque at Alamgari Bazar in Srinagar. He had gone missing in October last year.
Ali Mohammad Paddar was working in Rural Department on daily wages. His relatives said that Farooq asked them to pay him rupees one lakh as bribe to help them in getting a permanent job for Ali. They said that Ali used to meet Farooq regularly before he went missing.