Imam, son killed by mistake in Kashmir

‘‘We had information about some militant movement and the troops had laid an ambush. It was dark and as the troops saw them and asked them to halt, they started running,’’ a senior Army officer told The Indian Express.

‘‘The troops took them as militants and opened fire. It is a case of mistaken identity’’. The Army claims the incident took place around 10.45 pm but the villagers say it happened around 9.15 soon after the night prayers.

And as the news of the killing spread in the north Kashmir belt in the morning, thousands of angry villagers came out to protest the killings. Eyewitnesses said that the villagers were shouting slogans against the Army and the Mufti Government, seeking an end to civilian killings. Mufti — who was in Pahalgam attending a conference of the police officers —sent Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, Naveen Choudhary and Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, Riyaz Javeed to prevent the situation from getting out of control. A magisterial inquiry by the additional deputy commissioner, Baramulla, was ordered to probe the killings.

Earlier, a shepherd from Rajouri and his 14 sheep were also killed in similar circumstances near Bhootu village at Bandipora in Baramulla district. The Army had been on the lookout for militants and opened indiscriminate fire on the shepherd and his herd. The Army had claimed it to be a case of mistaken identity as well but sources reveal that the troops were new to the area and had not been intimated about the presence of shepherds in the area.

Last week, the Mufti government was again on the recieving end when troops of the Rashtriya Rifles 1 were accussed of molesting college girls in Choudhraygund in Shopian. Thousands of angry villagers had come out on the streets to protest the incident in which the Armymen had allegedly dragged two college girls towards their camp. The Army had denied the incident.

Sources in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party revealed that Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, too, is anxious about such incidents that put a question mark on the government’s healing-touch policy.

‘‘He (Mufti) had a separate meeting with Corps Commander Gen. Patankar at Pahalgam and asked him to put an end to such incidents that not only ruin the good work of the Army but also harm the image of the government and alienate civilian population,’’ a senior PDP leader said.