Kashmiri villagers shout slogans during the funeral of Irfan Ahmad Ganai, who was allegedly killed by the security forces, at Markundal, yesterday.
Srinagar: Two people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday allegedly in firing by security forces. The army has ordered an investigation into the incident and assured action against anybody found guilty.
Residents of Markundal village in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, some 40km from here, alleged that Irfan Nabi Ganai, an 18-year-old student, was killed by security forces early yesterday.
Carrying the body, locals staged a protest in the area. However, when the protesters turned violent and tried to set an army ambulance afire, security forces opened fire in which four people got injured, army sources said.
One of the wounded, identified as Irshad Ahmad Dar, 28, succumbed to his injuries while being taken to hospital.
The three wounded people were admitted to hospital in Srinagar.
The army said it deeply condoled the deaths of two people in firing incidents, assuring action against any trooper found guilty in these incidents.
“I deeply condole the deaths of the two persons who were killed in a firing incident today in Bandipora district. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families,” Major General R R Nimbhorkar, general officer commanding (GOC) of army’s Victor Force, told reporters in south Kashmir’s Awantipora headquarters of the counter-insurgency force.
“The incident has happened today morning. We have ordered an investigation into the incident. I can assure you that anybody found guilty in the incident would be punished,” Nimbhorkar said.
The GOC asserted that a cordon had been laid around Markundal village after a tip-off about the presence of guerrillas there.
He said the operation had jointly been launched with police.
When asked whether he would confirm the two slain people had been killed in army firing, the GOC said nothing could be said with certainty unless the investigations were completed.
Villagers alleged that the army killed Ganai after he came out of his home around 3.30am following rumours that thieves were moving around in the village.
Earlier army sources had said that fire came from outside the cordoned off area in the village where the counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles had laid a cordon.
The sources also said an ambulance of the army had been caught in a violent mob, forcing the occupants to open fire in self-defence.
Spontaneous protests erupted in Markundal and adjacent villages after the news about the incidents spread.
Police have launched an investigation into both incidents and the area has been cordoned off by security forces amid fears of further unrest over the deaths, officials said. “Police have registered a case against the army,” Kashmir’s police chief Abdul Gani Mir said.
An uncle of the 17-year-old man killed said they noticed two private vehicles outside their home late at night. They went outside to investigate, thinking someone was trying to steal their cattle, he said.
“Suddenly the soldiers fired a burst of bullets at us. My nephew was hit in his head and he died on the spot,” Nazir Ahmad said.
The incidents come amid stepped-up security across Indian Kashmir, after a series of recent attacks by militants including one earlier this month in Srinagar in which eight soldiers were killed.
The June 24 attack was one of the deadliest by militants in years and came on the eve of a rare visit to the disputed region by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
About a dozen armed rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989 for independence or merger with Pakistan.
The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians dead. A controversial law introduced in 1990 includes a provision that exempts the military deployed in Indian Kashmir from being prosecuted in civilian courts, unless specifically permitted by New Delhi.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by a UN monitored line of control, but both countries claim the Himalayan region in full and have fought two of their three wars over the territory. AFP/IANS
