By Fayaz Wani
Published: 05th November 2014 06:00 AM
Last Updated: 05th November 2014 12:13 AM
SRINAGAR: The killing of two youth by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir has triggered widespread protests in the border state, with the Pakistan-backed separatists calling for a shutdown on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has assured J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of a transparent and time-bound probe into the incident.
On Tuesday, protests broke out in Nowgam area on the city outskirts when the bodies of two youth -- 14-year old Faisal Yousuf and another teenager Mehraj-ud-Din Dar -- who were killed in Army firing in Chattergam area in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Monday, were brought to their native place.
Angry youth took to the roads and staged anti-government demonstrations. Chanting anti-India and anti-government slogans, the protesters alleged that the two victims had been deliberately killed by the Army men. In Nowgam area, police and paramilitary personnel had to encounter stone throwing youth. The security forces, though, retaliated by lobbing tear gas shells and resorted to baton charge. Following the clashes, security reinforcements were rushed to the area.
The deceased were later buried in a local grave yard at Nowgam and hundreds of people attended the funeral.
Authorities had imposed heavy restrictions in sensitive pockets of the city, including the downtown areas, to prevent the youth from staging demonstrations.
Meanwhile, Omar talked to Jaitley on phone and said such incidents had no place in an otherwise improving security environment and that they dealt a severe blow to the holistic efforts of sustainable peace and reconciliation in the state.
He told Jaitley that justice in these cases should be swift and effective so that there was no cynicism in the minds of the people when it came to their faith in the institutions of justice. “These deaths have served to vitiate the poll atmosphere already strained by the post-flood reconstruction challenge that people face”.
Later,Omar disclosed that Jaitley had assured him of a time-bound and transparent inquiry into the incident. “He assured me that action will be taken if wrong doing is established”.
In a related development, the Army has moved its men involved in the firing to the location of the inquiry. “The Deputy Commander of RR sector conducting the inquiry has been tasked to complete the investigations at the earliest,” an Army spokesman said.
He said the condition of the two injured youth, Zahid Abdul Naqqash and Shakir Ahmed Bhat, was stable. Both of them are undergoing treatment at the Army’s 92 Base Hospital here.
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief(GOC) of the city-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Subrata Saha has assured the victims of justice. The Army has regretted the loss of lives and ordered an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the incident.
Meanwhile, moderate separatist leader and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned the “cold-blooded murder” and termed it “barbaric”. He also Called for a complete shutdown in Valley on Wednesday.
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