Govt trying to hush up Shopian killings: Mehbooba

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 16: Terming the Medical Education Minister’s statement about Shopian killings as part of the standard response of the State Government to every attrocity committed by it, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), today said the Government has not been able to take even the initial mandatory steps for investigating the matter.
In a statement, the party president, Mehbooba Mufti said while the Government is doing everything to hush up the killing of five innocents in Shopian by imposing curfew and restriction, the police has not even entertained the FIR lodged by the father of Tawseef Ahmad, one of the victims of the CRPF firing.
Mehbooba said Taj Mohi-ud-Din’s statement is not the first of its kind to subvert the probe into an attrocity, Omar Abdullah, before him has done it on a number of times. The Chief Minister, she said had proclaimed that Aasiya and Neelofar, the two unfortunate girls from the same town had drowned even before the probe was ordered.
Similarly, in case of Gool killings, he (Omar Abdullah) accused a molvie of creating trouble, even before any investigation was taken up into the coldblooded murder of four innocent persons killed by unprovoked firing by BSF.
Mehbooba said life has become impossible in Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama areas, especially in Shopian, where people are raising their voice for justice. And, the Government, instead of taking any action on it, is punishing the entire people by uninterrupted curfew and restrictions. She said the essential commodities are running out in those areas and access to medical facilities is impossible. She said the fruit trade has taken a sever hit because of curfew and restrictions imposed by the Government.
Mehbooba said the Government is using curfew to facilitate photo ‘ops’ and controversial statements by its Ministers and Government politicians, but is preventing the opposition to reach out to people. Now her movement to other places has been restricted as her vehicles are not allowed to report for fear of her going to Shopian, even though she had intended to go somewhere else.”