Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 21: Rejecting the latest Government version on September 7, Shopian incident in which CRPF allegelly killed four youth as revulsive, People’s Demo-cratic Party (PDP) today said it provides justification for the cold-blooded murder of four youth.
In a statement, the party president, Mehbooba Mufti said the statement of Inspector General of Police amounts to clean chit to the CRPF even before any investigation has taken place. “As in earlier atrocities of similar nature, the police have acted as judge, jury and the prosecutor; burying another tragedy under unrelated and un-established accusations against the victims,” she said.
Mehbooba said very few people in Kashmir expect justice from the present Government, but police statement in the Shopian case has taken brazenness and insensitivity to an unprecedentedly low level. “It seems the police have tried to justify the killing of youth, for one of them having been arrested under PSA, and two others having some distant relatives connected with militancy,” she said. After huge public outcry FIR into the incident was lodged after 12 days and police came out with its version of facts within a day only thus eliminating any possibility of further investigation. Though, over few days, the National Conference leaders have been making demands that the Central Government should take action against the CRPF, but it is the same Government which gave the CRPF clean chit.
Mehbooba said the present govt has by its conduct sent a clear message to the people of the State that each one of them is a suspect and vulnerable to Govt bullets and that no judicial remedy is available to them. She said even the judicial orders are being violated with impunity as people set free by courts are re-arrested within the jail premises itself. She said the instance of Mushtaq-ul-Islam is glaring example of lawlessness of the Government, as he has repeated been re-arrested even as courts granted him bails.
PDP leader said Kashmir is facing a human rights crisis under the present dispensation as the wanton arrest of youth and killings by security forces and by unidentified gunmen are worsening the situation. She said the recent killings in Markundal in Bandipora and Gool in Ramban, too, have been hushed up as is now being done to the Shopian incident.
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