Srinagar: Reacting to the news of the alleged torture of four civilians in Kishtwar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday urged Indian Army officials to investigate the case thoroughly.
He said that he has seen people dying during tortures in police and armed forces camps in the past. “Thank God here, nobody has died. I urge the army to probe the case thoroughly and if any misconduct by the soldiers is found, the guilty should be court martialed and punished sternly,” Omar said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Polo View, Srinagar.
To a query whether there would be improvement in power curtailment in winters, Omar said he has directed the Power department to ensure less curtailment in the areas where there is less theft. “I am hopeful to see improved power scenario in Kashmir this winter,” Omar said.
Additionally, Omar said the resolution of special status passed in the Legislative Assembly recently has not been rejected and the door is open. He, however, said as far as the release of political prisoners, the government has to wait for the restoration of statehood first.
In reply to another query about release of political prisoners, Omar said: “Law and Order, Security continues to remain the domain of government of India. Despite this scenario, we have managed to ease the verification procedure. I made a speech in the Legislative Assembly stating that verification has been weaponised. Steps were taken to ease it out and more progress is on cards in this regard.” The chief minister said some people criticised the government stating that the resolution had nothing in it. “If there was nothing in the resolution, why Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah talked about it frequently,” Omar asked.
He said once the JK gets statehood, the government will follow the cases of political prisoners and ensure their release.
About today’s cabinet meeting, Omar said that the important decision taken in today’s meeting was to constitute a cabinet sub-committee comprising three members that would take a holistic view in the backdrop of Supreme Court directives.
“The Committee will submit a report to the Cabinet and we will see how far we can go to rationalise the reservation policy,” Omar said. (KNO)
