A 21-year-old youth was killed by the Army in an ambush in the Handwara area of north Kashmir on Friday night, triggering protests.
A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident. Though the Army has apologised, the police have registered a case of murder against it.
Reports said Manzoor Ahmad Magray, who was working with the Border Roads Organisation, was killed at Gund Chogal village around 10.30 p.m. when he passed through the road on which the Army had laid an ambush for militants. He was killed on the spot when the troopers of the 4 Parachute Regiment opened fire.
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As soon as news of Manzoor's killing spread, people took to the streets, raising slogans against the Army and demanding action against the personnel responsible for the killing. Fearing a flare up, authorities rushed to the area and assured the people that action would be initiated against those responsible. They swiftly registered a case against the Army and blocked the main road to the Kupwara district headquarters, keeping the body of the civilian on the road. “An FIR [26/2011] under Section 302 [murder] of the Ranbir Penal Code has been registered, at the Handwara police station, against the men deployed on the night of February 4-5,” a senior police officer said.
The district administration also ordered an inquiry into the incident. “The additional district magistrate of Kupwara will conduct a magisterial probe into the incident and furnish the report within a fortnight,” a top official said.
The Army has expressed regret for the killing and extended its sympathy to the family.
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“At approximately 22:30 hours, troops detected the suspicious movement of two persons coming towards the ambush [site]. In accordance with standard operating procedure, troops challenged the individuals to surrender, both individuals instead attempted to run away, upon which the troops opened fire, resulting in fatal injuries to Manzoor Ahmad Magray,” said Defence spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel J.S. Brar in a statement issued here.
“We deeply and sincerely express our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. The Army, although [having] strictly [adhered] to the challenging procedures as per the rules of engagement, regrets the loss, more so as the year has been declared by the Army as the Year of the Kashmiri Awam,” the statement said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the killing and said it could have been avoided had his suggestions at the Unified Headquarters been taken seriously. He rushed to Srinagar from Jammu to take stock of the situation and is likely to visit the family.
“How can one not condemn the death of 21-year-old Manzoor at the hands of the Army late last night? Another needless death in a bloody Kashmir,” Mr. Abdullah posted on Twitter.
“Have been trying to understand the circumstances, lots of questions, but not enough answers at the moment,” he added.
Separatist organisations too condemned the killing, saying that security forces had not changed their policy of “killing innocents in Kashmir”.
People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti too condemned the killing. “The cold-blooded murder of one more youth has exposed the claims of the State government because apart from [making] promises, this regime has done nothing to control such incidents,” she said in a statement. “The killing of the innocent has been going [on] unabated and the government has been brazenly [indulging] in farcical tactics,” she said.
Ms. Mehbooba regretted that while the count of the dead, comprising mostly youngsters, kept mounting, the government was busy deceiving people, filing mere FIRs.
“Over 120 innocent persons have been killed by the security forces during the last [few] months but action has not [been] taken [on] any person so far,” she said, adding that the way the government was responding to such cold-blooded murder reflected its insensitivity towards human tragedies.