Protests against teenagers' killings rock Valley

KUPWARA P: rotest demonstrations surfaced on Monday in Kupwara district headquarters and other parts of the Valley against the killing of three teenagers by the Army personnel at Bagargund village in the district on the night of July 23.

Police opened fire and burst teargas shells to disperse the protesters in Trehgam and other places. Sensing that there could be more trouble, the authorities have ordered that all educational institutions in the district be closed for two days.

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed convened an emergency meeting of the Unified Headquarters to discuss the situation. A special investigation team (SIT) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has been formed to probe the incident. Already a magisterial inquiry and an internal investigation had been ordered by the State Government and the Army.

The largest demonstration was held at Trehgam village where thousands of people from Batargam, Vilgam and Bangargund gathered to protest the killings. A clash ensued as police tried to stop the crowd at Batargam. Police used teargas shells and later opened fire in the air to disperse the protesters. But the demonstrators managed to break the cordon and reached Kupwara town where hundreds of students joined them.

The crowd threw stones and ransacked a hotel and the office of local traders. The irate mob also smashed the goodwill hoardings put up by the Army stating "Jawan Aur Awam Aman Hey Muqam" (The goal is peace for both the soldier and people). The protesters tried to set on fire a CRPF vehicle but the attempt was foiled. The clashes continued for the whole day. Demanding action against the "erring" security personnel student protesters said, "We will not rest till they are brought to book." Several people, including a police officer were injured. The whole town observed the strike.

Minister of State for Home A. R. Veeri, Minister for Forests Mohiuddin Sofi, and the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, B B Vyas, visited the town to take stock of the situation. They announced ex-gratia relief and jobs for the kin of each family. "The situation is well under control but the educational institutions have been closed for two days as a precautionary measure," Mr. Vyas told The Hindu.

In Srinagar, demonstrations were held by various organisations and around 20 activists of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, including senior leader Javed Ahmad Mir, were detained while they were protesting against the murder of the teenagers. They were taken into preventive custody when they were heading for the local office of the United Nations Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan at Sonawar here.

Lawyers boycotted the courts on Monday in protest against the killings.

Mufti holds meeting


Concerned at the killings, the Chief Minister convened a Unified Headquarters meeting and discussed the situation.

He said the security personnel must observe restraint. All political parties have condemned the incident. The CPI (M) State secretary, M Y Tarigami, said such incidents brought shame to democracy. JKLF chairman Yasin Malik termed the incident as an attempt to derail the peace process.