Two days after three civilians were found dead in a river in Kathua, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has alleged that there have been attempts to “politicise” the deaths. He also voiced his surprise at the recent visit of the Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma, wondering how he was allowed when Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary had been prevented from going there. Speaking in the ongoing Assembly session Monday, Abdullah expressed his concern at the deaths and conveying his sympathies with the bereaved families. Simultaneously, he also said: “Kahin na kahin, is pe siyasi rang deney ki koshish zaroor ki ja rahi hai’’ (Somewhere, attempts are definitely being made to give the incident a political colour)”. The remarks come two days after the bodies of three civilians – including a minor - were found in a river flowing through Inchhu forests in Kathua district’s Malhar area. The three – identified as Yogesh, 32, Darshan, 40, and Varun, 14 - are believed to be cousins and were allegedly to be part of a wedding procession. The killings have kicked up a row in the union territory, with the Union Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh, claiming that they had been killed by militants. Still speaking in the Assembly Monday, Omar cited an ongoing police inquiry to say that it was not appropriate to speculate about how the incident had occurred. However, he did refer to the alleged manhandling of Bani’s MLA Rajeshwar Singh during the latter’s visit to a local hospital Saturday night. Although an independent legislator, Singh, whose assembly constituency Bani falls under Kathua district, has extended support to Omar’s ruling National Conference. “What happened - or didn’t happen - is before you,” Omar told the House. “Police will have to take action in the matter also as I don’t think that the MLA Sahib was trying to go there with an intention to do politics.” He also expressed his surprise that while Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Chowdhary was discouraged from visiting the incident site citing potential law and order problems, Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma – a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party – was allowed to visit. “On Saturday night, the Deputy CM decided to go there (Billawar), and accordingly, the district officials concerned were informed about it. Lekin kal subah inkey ghar ke bahar jo hai, thori faouj jada tainaat thi, aur Deputy CM Sahib to kaha gaya tha ki aap ka wahan jana wajib nahi hoga (However, on Sunday morning, there was a little bit more force deployed outside the residence of the Deputy CM and he was told that it won’t be right for him to visit there),” he said. He went on to say: “Lekin yeh baat meri samaj se bahar hai ki agar halaat kis hadh tak kharab hein ki Deputy CM sahib wahan nahi ja saketey, to ye bataye na sahab ki Leader of the Opposition sahib kaisey gaye (But what is unfathomable is if situation is so bad that the Deputy Chief Minister cannot visit there, then tell us, how could the Leader of the Opposition go there?)”. When the LoP rose to respond, Omar said it was not for him but for the police to answer. Meanwhile, the three civilians were cremated Monday amid protests across Billawar against the alleged killings.
