Curfew violators are not innocent civilians, says Home Secretary

June 29, 2010 01:39 am | Updated November 09, 2016 06:56 pm IST - New Delhi:

The body of nine-year-old Tariq Ahmaqd being carried in Baramulla, 55 km northof Srinagar on Monday. Ahmad was one of the two killed by CRPF firing on Monday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

The body of nine-year-old Tariq Ahmaqd being carried in Baramulla, 55 km northof Srinagar on Monday. Ahmad was one of the two killed by CRPF firing on Monday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

With the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) coming under attack for the death of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said on Monday that people who broke curfew and attacked police posts could not be called “innocent civilians.”

He said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was handling the situation “to the best of his ability.”

“In a place where curfew is imposed, people break curfew, go ahead and attack police posts, CRPF posts… I don't think you can call them, by any stretch of imagination, innocent civilians,” Mr. Pillai said.

Asked about the death of a nine-year-old boy in the latest incident of firing in Sopore, he said the person killed was in fact a 17-year-old youth.

“Now, the organisers of these mobs are in one way willing to put teenagers in front. I think they are to be blamed. And teenagers should realise that they are being exploited by those who are doing this,” the Home Secretary told NDTV.

To a question whether the separatists were fanning public anger, he replied in the affirmative. “Oh yes, I don't think there is any doubt whatsoever. I think separatists are definitely instigating the violence. We have seen this happening repeatedly.”

“Police should be at the forefront”

Mr. Pillai suggested that the State armed police should be at the forefront in dealing with such situations and the CRPF should be used as the “second line of defence.”

He commended the Central paramilitary force for showing restraint in dealing with the situation and said the incident was videographed and shown to the Chief Minister. “What do you want? That the CRPF men should be killed by the mob?” he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.