Maintaining that the government was committed to a zero-tolerance policy on human rights violation, Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday said he had set an example by delivering on the promise. He was referring to the identification of a BSF personnel responsible for killing Nishat, a Srinagar youth, on February 5.
After chairing the Unified Headquarters meeting, the Minister said, “We have re-emphasised our policy of zero-tolerance for human rights violations.”
Mr. Chidambaram said that after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah brought the matter to his notice, he promised to identify the accused personnel within 48 hours. He kept his promise. “The accused BSF personnel was suspended and handed over to the State police. The commandant has also been suspended. It is now up to the investigating agency to find out who is responsible,” he added.
Mr. Abdullah expressed his gratitude for the support extended in tracing the accused. “We received unprecedented and whole-hearted support in this regard,” he said, adding that the investigation was going on and, when required, the commandant would be also questioned.
“There is no hold-up or road block in the matter,” he said, responding to a comment that the Ministry was creating obstacles in handing over the suspended BSF commandant. “So far, we have not made any request to the MHA [Ministry of Home Affairs] to hand him over. The investigations are on,” Mr. Abdullah said.
The Home Minister said the security forces were rendering commendable services and adhering to advice given to them in dealing with situations. “They showed vision when a militant recently escaped and the forces decided to pick him up at the next opportunity. We will continue to insist on zero tolerance against human rights violation.”
During the two-hour Unified Headquarters meeting and the subsequent meeting with administrative secretaries of the State government, Mr. Chidambaram said issues relating to security, construction of tenements, creation of jobs, vacating the buildings by security forces, etc., came up for discussion. “There has undoubtedly been progress on these matters,” he added.
