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Kashmir on edge after young man’s killing; Colonel named in FIR

 

Srinagar: There is curfew in 10 districts of Kashmir since last night amid tension after the death of a 24-year-old man allegedly in Army firing during a protest in Baramulla in north Kashmir yesterday. The police have registered an FIR against the Army and have named a Colonel. The Army says the young man was some distance away from the site of the protest and was not killed in firing.

There have been several protests all over the Valley, including downtown Srinagar, with incidents of stone pelting reported. Internet services have been suspended in the Valley since Tuesday afternoon as a precaution.

he Army has emphatically said in a statement that the young man was not killed in the firing.  “The youth’s death could not have been caused due the firing by the Army personnel as extreme caution was exercised by them and the fire was deliberately aimed in the air. Also the place of incident where the person died was well away from the location of the patrol and could have no way been affected by the firing by the patrol in the air,” it said. The Army has sought a detailed investigation of the incident.

In the state assembly on Tuesday afternoon, an emotional Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced an investigation. Head bowed, he stood silent for 40 seconds before saying he was grief-stricken at the young man’s death. “Do people in a procession throwing stones deserve to be shot at? Is this the first time people have thrown stones at the forces? Why did they fire?” Mr Abdullah said.

He was speaking after the main opposition People’s Democratic Party or the PDP and other legislators attacked him, even suggesting that it could have happened to his son. A shocked Mr Abdullah said, “What are you saying? Is this where we have reached? Is this what we have learnt? I have two sons. No one should go through this. This post (Chief Minister) has no magic in it. I wish everything could have been in our hands.”

A more composed Mr Abdullah later tweeted, “don’t confuse anger & sadness with helplessness. What you saw today was me angry & sad at the tragic loss of life.” He also said on Twitter, “If my resignation could bring a person back to life I’d resign in a flash” and “My responsibility to the state and people is to ensure incidents like today’s see justice done.”

The Army opened fire in Baramulla yesterday when a demonstration against what the protesters called the “high handedness of security forces” turned violent. The police have, in a first information report, accused the troops, and their commander, Colonel Dalbinder Singh of the 46 Rashtriya Rifles of killing the young man, whose funeral was held last night.

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