Shopian Firing Incidents: Separatists Term Enquiry Orders A Gimmick

KL Report

SRINAGAR

Rejecting the Enquiry ordered by state government in Shopian firing incidents that led five people dead, Separatist leaders Friday said that government was ridiculing people and the international community by ordering such enquiries. While doubting its (Govt’s) intention behind the move, these leaders have said that ordering enquires after the ‘bloodshed’ has become a common practice for the government and the process has always proved futile and misleading.

“This is a very clear case of murder. CRPF shoot four people in broad day light. What is the fun of holding the enquiry into it,’’ Hurriyat Conference (G) Chairman Syed Ali Geelani told a local news agency, KNS, adding that now the congress itself is admitting that the fourth one who was branded earlier as militant was a laborer. Geelani demanded that the CRPF personnel who opened fire should immediately be arrested and an FIR should be lodged against them and produced in the court of law. “We know that they will pressurize the witnesses also to shield the culprits but still we demand their arrest and an FIR against the erring CRPF personnel.”

Geelani while showing distress on the situation said that it was painful to see Rafiq Hussain’s widow holding the minor daughter in her lap yet the government was playing with the sentiments of people.

Geelani also rejected the Cabinet decision of replacing the CRPF at Gagran camp by the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police and said that relocating camps and shifting personnel here and there would not make any difference to the prevailing situation. “This is an occupation and unless you don’t remove these camps altogether nothing would happen,” added Geelani. He said that the draconian laws like AFSPA, PSA etc. provide an excuse to forces for spreading terror and killings.

Meanwhile Chairman of the other faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq also rejected the move saying the government was actually trying to buy time.

“Shopian incident is not an isolated one, what they finally do is ordering an enquiry without any outcome,’’ Mirwaiz told KNS, adding that government must remove the camps from all the populated areas. He said that these people were killed in the broad day light and was an ‘open and shut’ case, he however said that the enquiry should be conducted impartially and independently. Mirwaiz further said that his faction of Hurriyat has shot letters to various ambassadors camping in New Delhi to apprise them of the situation in the state.  Mirwaiz also castigated government for not allowing him to offer Friday prayers and said that such restrictions were unacceptable. He said that the Hurriyat leaders were planning to visit Shopian in the coming days.

In the meantime Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Mohamamd Yasin Malik who was arrested in Lal Chowk area on Friday during his attempt of holding  dharna in lal Chowk against the Shopian Killings said that the government was befooling people by ordering enquires into the firing incidents involving the civilian killings.

“We have been witnessing it since 1990. Even this year, they killed boys in Bandipora and then branded them as militants, then killed another in Baramullah, then Hajin, Gool and other places. Tell me which enquiry has produce results,” asked Malik. He told KNS that the process was a futile one and was serving only the interests of government.