SRINAGAR: The Concerned Citizens Group has expressed its deep anguish at the killing of innocent civilians in Srinagar, a statement issued to the media said.

Humaira, the widow of dentist Mudasir Gul, a real estate company owner, with her minor daughter on a protest seeking his dead body. Dr Gul was killed in Hyderpora on November 15, 2021 in his office.

“The government’s explanation about the Hyderpora incident is as clear as mud and complicates the issue further. The governor’s decision to order a magisterial enquiry is nothing more than an eyewash,” the statement said.

In its nine reports prepared after visits to Jammu and Kashmir since 2016 the Group said it has been emphasising the need for a political and not a military solution to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, as indeed many others including military commanders familiar with the situation there have been doing.

“We have also emphasised that a political solution can come only out of a dialogue with all stakeholders. But our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The government of India has tried everything from an extended governor’s rule to constitutional changes but nothing has worked for the simple reason that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have not been taken into confidence,” the statement reads. “The killings of civilians have demonstrated that the situation on the ground is far from normal as claimed by the government from time to time. Incidents, such as the killing of innocent civilians, are bound to exacerbate it further.”

The group has demanded that the magisterial enquiry should immediately be replaced by a judicial enquiry under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India in order to uncover the truth and restore people’s confidence in the rule of law.

“We also demand that the enquiry should be completed expeditiously. In the meanwhile, those guilty of perpetrating it should be placed under suspension,” the group said. It has appealed to the MPs from Jammu and Kashmir to take up the issue in the parliament.

Apart from Sinha, the statement was jointly issued by Wajahat Habibullah, Kapil Kak, Sushobha Barve and Bharat Bhushan.

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