Conflict

Shopian Bloodbath: Investigations on to see whether youth killed were OGWs, says Police

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Srinagar: As the Army has claimed that four youth killed in Shopian were Over Ground Workers (OGWs), the State Police Chief on Monday said that the police has started investigation in the incident and it will be probed whether the slain youth were OGWs or not.

“Investigation is on in the case. Everything will be cleared and the case will be thoroughly investigated. We will see if the youth killed in firing had any affiliation with militant outfits,” DGP SP Vaid said.

The Director General of Police, however, refused to divulge any further details about the investigation. “We just began the investigations. Nothing can be said about investigation yet,” he said.

When asked whether the police have registered any case in the incident, the DGP said that whenever any incident takes place, the case is registered. “Whenever any incident takes place police has to register a case. It is matter of investigation. We will come to know what the truth is,” the DGP maintained.

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Meanwhile, Vaid appealed people to maintain peace. “I appeal to people to maintain peace and have faith on the Police as the investigation is on.”

Further commenting on the firing incident, the DGP said that the police have recovered the dead bodies of two militants along with two weapons.

“Other arms and ammunition were also recovered from the possession of the militants, who fired upon a joint check-point of the security forces last night,” he said.

On Sunday, two militant and four civilians who the army claimed were overground workers (OGWs) of militants were killed after the militants fired on a mobile vehicle check post (MVCP) of 54 Rashtriya Rifles.

However, the villagers refuted the army claim and said the four slain men were civilians.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said that she was deeply distressed due to the civilian killings in Shopian. The chief minister tweeted her condolences to the families of the people who were ‘caught in cross fire’.

The various business communities of the valley also reacted to the killings. The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a statement said that the incident, probably is a ‘fake encounter’.  While the Kashmir Economic Alliance called it a ‘strategic genocide’.  

The Jammat-e-Islami in it’s statement said that the incident proves that the Indian Army is immune from every legal and moral accountability. The Joint Resistance leadership has called for ‘Shopian Chalo’ on March 7. They have also called for a complete shutdown too.

In their statement, the JRL said that the ‘Indian trigger happy forces and police are deployed to kill Kashmiris and pro-India politicians and political parties especially RSS backed Mehbooba regime is deployed to provide a legal cover to these killers.’

Earlier in the day talking to reporters in Jammu, the DPG while commenting on the return of a youth from militant ranks to his family, expressed hope that more women would make an appeal for their sons’ return.

“You have seen six bodies are lying (in Shopian). Taking up arms or joining terrorism only lead to loss of life and nothing can be achieved,” he said.

 

(With inputs from KNS)

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