Herdsman killed, one hurt in Army firing in J&K

Srinagar: A nomadic herdsman was killed and another wounded in Army firing in a remote area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district early Sunday, triggering protests by the Gujjar community.

The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident whereas the police has registered  a First Information Report (FIR) against the men of the Army unit involved in the firing.

Twenty-eight-year-old Muhammad Rafiq Gujjar and 30-year-old Shakeel Ahmed were shot at by troops of the Army’s 58 Rashtriya Rifles in Kohli area of Ramban’s Gooltehsil around 4 am when they had just returned home. Gujjar died on the spot. Ahmed, who was injured in the firing, was shifted to district hospital Ramban where he told reporters that the Army “barged into our dwelling and opened fire when we had just returned after delivering cattle” at a nearby place.

The Army, however, said that its men opened fire after they came under fire in the area. Jammu-based defence spokesman Lt. Col. Devender Anand said that the Army had, on specific intelligence inputs, launched an operation at Kohli. “At 3.45 am the Army patrol saw some suspicious activity. The Army challenged the suspected individuals as per Standing Operating Procedure (SOP). On being challenged, the suspected individuals opened fire upon the Army patrol. The Army patrol retaliated effectively,” he said.

SSP Ramban Mohan Lal said an FIR has been registered against 58 Rastriya Rifles at Dharamkund police station and that the investigations were underway.

The incident comes a day after a 25-year-old youth of the Gujjar community was shot dead by CRPF officers posted at the residence of former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah at Bhatindi in Jammu. Hundreds of people on Sunday attended his funeral and later held protests against the killing of an “innocent unarmed man.”

In view of the incident, the state government has ordered constitution of a three member committee headed by Additional director general of police (security) to review the security of protected persons.

The protesters including the relatives of the youth, Syed Murfad Shah, blocked the Jammu-Bantalab Road near his Chinore residence for several hours and demanded that an FIR be registered against the CRPF personnel and the case handed over to the crime branch of the J&K police for a thorough probe. The protesters also called for releasing the CCTV footage of the incident.

The CRPF has claimed that Shah had rammed his black Mahindra XUV into the front gate of the residence of Abdullahs, damaged some articles on the premises, and attacked a man before being shot dead.

The relatives of the deceased have, however, alleged that he had been called by a CRPF officer over some issue related to gun licensing and was shot dead in cold blood after the two got into an argument. Shah’s father runs a gun-shop in Bantalab area of Jammu. A local woman, Raj Kumari, who has claimed to be a witness to the incident, has said that Shah was shot twice outside the Abdullahs’ house and then dragged inside the premises by the CRPF personnel.

The government has already ordered a magisterial probe. No satisfied with it, Abdullahs’ party, the National Conference, has demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In view of the incident, the state government has ordered constitution of a three member committee headed by Additional Director General of Police (Security) to review the security of protected persons.

Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party patron and executive chairman of State Legal Aid Committee Bhim Singh has urged the governor, N.N. Vohra, to institute a high-power judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the high court. “The state Legal Aid Committee has collected evidence and felt that Shah was killed without any cause or reason,” Mr Singh said in a statement. It also read, “This is also admitted that the deceased had no weapon or anything in his hand or in the car. The facts lead to the conclusion that it was a pre-planned murder.”