PDP, BJP spar over murder charge against Army Major

Srinagar: The ruling People’s Democratic Party and its alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party locked horns in the Jammu Kashmir Assembly on Monday over charges of murder being investigated against an Army Major and his men.

Two youth, Javed Ahmed Bhat, 20, and Suhail Javed Lone, 24, were killed and nine other civilians injured in Army firing on a stone-pelting mob in Shopian’s Ganowpora village on Saturday afternoon. The incident evoked anger throughout the Valley where a shutdown was observed on Sunday to mourn and protest the killings.

An FIR was registered at a Shopian police station against Major Aditya of 10 Garhwal and his associates, and the state government has ordered a magisterial inquiry that is to be completed within 15 days.  

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed noisy scenes over the killing with the Opposition National Conference (NC) demanding the arrest of the officer and soldiers involved in the incident, and the BJP demanding that the FIR be withdrawn and a fresh one, without mentioning the names of Army personnel, be filed.

“The government should withdraw the FIR against the Army personnel and lodge a fresh FIR without naming anybody,” BJP’s R.S. Pathania said while speaking in the Assembly, currently in its budget session in winter capital Jammu.

Major Aditya and his men have been booked on charges of murder (Section 302), attempt to murder (Section 307) and endangering life (Section 336) in Saturday’s shooting incident. In this connection FIR No. 26/ 2018 stands registered at Shopian police station.

Mr Pathania questioned the registration of murder case against the Army, asking, “Why were serious charges levelled against the Army?” He added that criminal justice system “doesn’t work under pulls and pressures”.

But chief minister Mehbooba Mufti snubbed her coalition partner, pledging that the investigations into the shooting incident would be taken to their logical conclusion. “The investigation into the unfortunate Shopian killings would be taken to its logical end. The Army would not be demoralised by registration of single FIR. There can be black sheep in Army also,” she said.

She added that within moments of learning about the incident she rang up defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who, she said, shared her anguish and assured that appropriate steps would be taken. Ms Mufti said, “Army as an institution has done a great job, but the grace of an institution only enhances once the black sheep within are identified and weeded out”.

Later she tweeted, “We will take the Shopian probe to its logical conclusion. Justice & peace are two sides of the same coin”.

The Army has said that its men had opened fire “in self-defence” after a 250-strong mob tried to lynch a Junior Commissioned Office (JCO) and snatch his service weapon. It also said that seven soldiers were injured and 11 vehicles damages by the mob.

The chief minister, while speaking in the Assembly, disclosed that the police had advised the Army to avoid Ganowpora route. According to police sources, the advisory was issued in view of tensions in the area following the killing of two Hizb-ul-Mujahedin militants by security forces on last Wednesday. One of the slain men was a resident of Ganowpora.

Earlier, Opposition members from NC, Congress and CPI(M), supported by PDP legislators from Shopian, Muhammad Yousuf Bhat, and Sonawar (Srinagar), Muhammad Ashraf Bhat, were on their feet soon after the House assembled for the day’s business to protest over the Shopian killings. They moved an adjournment motion to discuss the prevailing law and order situation and raised slogans in support of their demand.

The chief minister, while winding up the discussion on the adjournment motion, assured the House that the probe ordered into the killings would be taken to its logical conclusion. She said that nobody countenances such killings “which only impair and slow down the political process in the state”.

“Incidents like Shopian remind us that we cannot afford confrontation at any level and there is an urgent need to engage in a meaningful dialogue at all levels,” she asserted.