SRINAGAR: Addressing her party workers, PDP president Ms Mehbooba Mufti talked about “fake encounters” and alleged that a family wanted to meet her but was not allowed.
Three youths of Rajouri were killed in a fake encounter in Shopian. She said, insisting that there are “other three incidents” where youths were killed in “alleged fake encounters”.
“One of the families of youths wanted to meet me but they were not allowed yesterday,” Mehbooba alleged.
Without naming the family, the former Chief Minister was referring to the killing of a Buntengoo youth, who, according to family was a civilian and not a militant.
Identified as Imran Qayoom, a marketing executive with an electrical appliance manufacturing company, the family told news portal The Wire that he had an argument with his father and left the house but was living around the village with his cousins or friends.
The family has admitted that their son was a victim of drug abuse (police had registered two cases against him) and was undergoing rehabilitation but had nothing to do with militancy.
Police had issued a detailed statement saying that on “specific input” they cordoned off Sursano village along with 34-Rashtriya Rifles. “In the ensuing encounter, one terrorist was killed whose identity is yet to be ascertained. Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from the dead body. All the recovered material has been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crimes,” the statement added.
Now, the family has written to the government seeking a probe into the killing. Their immediate priority is to get the body for decent burial in their family graveyard.
“There are forces who want that Kashmiri youth should pick up a gun so that they will get more opportunity to suppress Kashmiris. I want to tell these youths don’t pick up guns. You are being killed and you are leaving your parents behind,” Mehbooba told in her address. She also demanded an inquiry into the killings, while asserting that youth should not pick up guns to become militants.
