J&K guv ask CS to look into killing of political people

In the wake of killing of a BJP leader by militants in Anantnag district last night, Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik Sunday directed the chief secretary to get an enquiry conducted into the killings of political people in the last few months.

A Raj Bhavan spokesperson said the governor has asked for identifying any lapses on the part of security agencies regarding ensuring the security of political people and has emphasized that from now onwards, all political people should be protected at every cost.

“Governor has conveyed that immediately after the opening of bi-annual Durbar Move offices in Srinagar (on Monday), he will call a high-level meeting to review the safety and security aspects of all political leaders and sarpanches in the state,” he said.

The order comes in the backdrop of killing of a Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) vice president for Anantnag inside his home at Verinag in south Kashmir on late Saturday evening. The slain was identified as 65-year old Ghulam Muhammad Mir alias Atal. “At around 9:15 pm gunmen broke into his (Mir) house at his residence in Nowgam village of Verinag in Dooru and indiscriminately fired upon him,” a police official said.

The slain was associated with BJP since long and had unsuccessfully contested 2008 Assembly elections on the BJP ticket from Dooru constituency. Mir also remained associated with BJPs JK Muslim Morcha.

The State Security Review Coordination Committee (SRCC) last month de-categorized 409 protected persons from the security cover. Following SRCC recommendations security cover including personal security officers (PSOs), escorts and attachment guards were withdrawn from 96 leaders of Congress party followed by 77 of National Conference (NC),66 leaders of BJP and 26 leaders of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The SRCC’s recommendations came in the wake of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asking the state government to recover over 2000 police personnel and 250 vehicles, which were given in excess to the entitlement of various protected persons across Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources said since governor Malik’ took over last August, nearly 900 odd people in the state have been de-categorized including 22 separatist leaders.