A teenage boy was killed and three others were wounded in Army firing on a group of protesters in Jammu and Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district on Friday.
The incident has the potential to push Kashmir Valley, already simmering for the past many days over the death of four civilians in security forces’ actions, into a turmoil similar to that witnessed in the summer of 2010 which had claimed 120 lives of civilians, mainly in police firings, and threatened the very existence of then Omar Abdullah government, say the local watchers. Police sources and witnesses said that soldiers of Army’s 47 Rashtriya Rifles opened fire on protesters at Natnusa, a remote village of Kupwara, on Friday afternoon injuring four persons. One of them 18-year-old Arif Hussein Dar, a resident of neighbouring Awura village, died on way to hospital. Another report put the number of injured at four. The three seriously injured have been brought to a Srinagar hospital for specialised treatment. Hospital officials said their condition is “stable”.
Police and Army officials said that the soldiers opened fire when a mob tried to storm an Army camp during a protest in the area. Defence spokesman Lt.Col. N.N. Joshi said here, “The Army exercised maximum restraint despite pelting by a large crowd. Only when the mob stormed their post, the Army jawans were forced to open controlled fire in which some miscreants were injured.” The police also said that as many as 40 policemen and Central force personnel were injured in the stone-pelting incident on Friday.
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed deep anguish over the “unfortunate death” of the teenager and said that she is extremely distressed as the circle of violence has consumed yet another life of a young boy. “My heart goes out to the bereaved family of the boy who died in the prime of his youth,” she said. She appealed general public “to remain vigilant and maintain calm to defeat the nefarious designs of those who want to disturb peace in the state”.
The Valley is on the boil since Tuesday when three civilians, including a budding cricketer and a woman, were killed and a few others wounded in the security forces’ firing on irate crowds which took to the streets in north-western Handwara and soon turned violent after alleged molestation of a 16-year-old student by an Army jawan.
The student and her father have been detained by the police even though a video was circulated by the Army on Wednesday showing her saying she was, in fact, harassed by two local youth and that there was no Army jawan present in the public lavatory where she was believed to have been molested. The video was apparently recorded in a police station on April 12 and her family said she has not been allowed to return home since and that, on Wednesday night, her father was called to the Handwara police station where he was also detained.
Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) said in a statement here on Friday that the girl’s mother had approached it for urgent and immediate legal assistance after alleging that the family particularly her daughter is under pressure to make false statements. However, a legal team of JKCCS led by prominent Valley attorney Parvez Imroz which reached the outskirts of curfew-bound Handwara in the morning was refused entry into the town. It quoted DIG police (north Kashmir) Uttam Chand saying that the girl, her father and aunt have been taken into “protective custody” by the police but denied the team access to the detainees and to their house in the town.
The JKCCS said that even Abdul Haq Khan, a senior minister in the PDP-BJP government, who is camping in Kupwara to oversee the situation on being contacted “expressed his inability to interfere in the law and order tasks of the police and civil administration”. Following the killings in Tuesday’s firing in Handwara, 72-km from here, the protests spread to other areas of the Valley and on Wednesday another youth was killed when hit in the head by a teargas canister in neighbouring Dragmulla area.
Amid heightening tensions and in view of the people simmering with anger, the authorities imposed curfew or curfew-like restrictions in several parts of the region including summer capital Srinagar and Handwara which continued on the third consecutive day on Friday. A 48-hour- shutdown, called by separatist parties and endorsed by various social groups and Kashmir bar council, paralysed life in rest of the Valley on Wednesday and Thursday. Though there was no strike call for Friday, many areas which were not under curfew or security lockdown remained shut for the third day (Friday). Officials said that the security restrictions will remain in force on Saturday.
The Internet services have been partially withdrawn and the rail services within the Valley remained suspended too. Handwara has been declared out of bounds for opposition leaders and media alike. The authorities said that mobile Internet services were suspended on the second consecutive day on Friday “in the interest of peace and tranquillity”. After the Handwara incidents, many people took to social networking sites to vent their anger. Also photographs and videos of security forces’ “atrocities” were being uploaded on Facebook and Twitter.com and circulated through WhatsApp. Rail officials said that the rail services were suspended within the Valley for security reasons. Various separatist leaders and activists were earlier placed under house arrest or detained in police stations after they were taken into “preventive custody’ by police.
On Friday afternoon, protests were held at various places across the Valley against the recent killings in security forces’ firings and teargas shelling. At places, protests including at Natnusa turned violent, prompting the security forces to use force, officials said.
A statement issued by police here said that there were massive violent protests in Handwara and Kupwara areas on Friday. Irate mobs attacked the J&K police and central security force establishments and deployments, leaving more than 40 of them injured. “Despite severe provocations the deployment on ground exercised maximum restraint. However at one place Natnusa in Kupwara the mob tried to enter the forces’ camp and the Army had to resort to firing in which one person lost his life,” the statement said. It added that incidents of pelting were reported from Mir Mohalla, Hyhama Chowk, Kralpora in Kupwara, Kralgund, Magam in Handwara and Cement Bridge, Baramulla district as well. Police has renewed its appeal to the people “to maintain calm and not to resort to violence and attack security forces and police establishments”. Earlier on Friday, J&K’s DG police, K. Rajendra Kumar, flew in here from winter capital Jammu and then along with IGP (Kashmir range), SJM Gillani, visited Handwara to take stock of the ground situation and discuss it with local police and Army officers. On his return here, Mr. Kumar chaired a high level security meeting at Srinagar. At both meetings, Mr. Kumar asked for exercising utmost restraint while dealing with law and order situations and urged the security forces to stick to already laid down Standing Operative Procedures (SOPs) “so that there is no chance of situations flaring up in this fashion.”
Meanwhile, ailing separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a shutdown on Saturday to mourn and protest the latest killing in Army firing. Similar calls have been issued by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik and others. Kashmir University and J&K Board of School Education have postponed all examinations which were to be held on Saturday. Most schools have announced they were remain shut till Monday. End it
