CRPF firing mars Zubin concert

On a day when world famous conductor Zubin Mehta performed before a mesmerised audience in the Shalimar Gardens here, at least four people, including two suspected militants, were killed in para-military CRPF firing in Shopian district of South Kashmir on Saturday.

Inspector general of police (IGP) Kashmir range, Abdul Gani Mir said that unidentified militants opened fire on the CRPF camp at Gagran in Shopian, 52 km from here, at around 1 pm. The CRPF, in retaliation killed four people whose identity was yet to be ascertained.
The IGP said two of the killed persons were suspected militants. “Some weapons have been recovered from the scene,” he added.

Local people refuted the police claims saying the four people killed were innocent civilians. Ghulam Mohammad, a resident of Shoopian, told Deccan Herald over phone that five youth on two motor cycles were riding fast when the CRPF men deployed in a nearby camp opened fire on them.

“Three boys on one of the motor cycles died on the spot. One of the students on the other bike, Tawseef Ahmad Bhat, succumbed to his injuries. Another student Adil Ahmad Wachkoo is battling for life in Srinagar hospital,” he added.

Soon after the news of killings spread, hundreds of people disputing the police claims swarmed the streets of Shopian. Police burst tear gas shells and used batons to disperse the protesters, reports said. The protestors pelted stones at the local police station.

Both factions of Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have called for a general strike in the Valley on Sunday to protest the killings.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, condemning the killings, said she had received a number of calls from the residents of Shopian town to “narrate a version that belies government story” that the slain youths were militants carrying arms.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, militants lobbed a grenade on a police party at Pulwama market in south Kashmir in which more than 10 policemen were injured.
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) militant outfit, in a statement to a local news agency, claimed responsibility for the attack.