KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Even as the government ordered probe is on-going into the killing of a youth in Zainakote, the Central Reserve Police Force has given clean chit to its personnel by denying firing any bullet and “doubts” the “slain youth was killed by bullet or had received any injury by a teargas shell”.
CRPF’s Deputy Inspector General, Srinagar (North), S K Parth said that the paramilitary force has submitted its reply to the inquiry officer formed by the Government into killing of the youth in Zainakote in Srinagar outskirts.
“Our internal inquiry has not found any of our personnel has seen the youth falling down. Neither have the civil police which was accompanying us. We did not fire any bullet; even no civilian has said that the youth was killed by a bullet. Doctors have said that he was hit by a shell, though doctors’ report is also inconclusive,” Parth told reporters here in Dalgate after attending a felicitation function of CPRF by houseboat owners.
Parth said that the “CRPF does not know” what happened on the spot and “it did not fire bullets on protesters”.
“Had we fired any bullet, police would have said it or civilians would have seen who fired the bullet. We don’t understand what happened on the spot. We have strict directions not to fire bullets (on protesters),” he said.
The CRPF officer said that “it doubts that the youth was injured due to the bullet or teargas shells”.
“If anybody has received any injury (sic)… First, we doubt he had received any injury. We don’t believe he had received injury because our commandant was leading the CRPF party; police’s SHO was there at the spot. Had any such thing happened, we would have known it. We came to know about the incident later,” the DIG said.
He said that the magisterial inquiry is on-going which will reveal everything. “Whosoever is found guilty will be punished. Even if it is any of our personnel,” he said.
Gowhar, 21, was an engineering student at SSM Parihaspora in Pattan, was killed on November 7 last year soon after hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had left Srinagar after addressing rally here.
“My son was fired from point blank by CRPF. He was killed by a live bullet fired by CRPF which doctors in SKIMS also confirmed to us. He was not killed by any teargas shell as police and CRPF has claimed,” Nazir Ahmad Dar father of Gowhar Ahmad Dar of Zainakote had told KNS.
Following public protests, the government had formed one-man inquiry of Additional Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, N A Baba to probe the killing.