Death of 4 Civilians in Army Firing Threatens Fragile Peace in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar: The killing of six people, including four civilians, on Sunday night in a shootout with the Army has rocked Jammu and Kashmir.

While there was no confusion about the identity of the two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants killed on Sunday night in Shopian, several versions of events exist about the four civilians who were killed while traveling in two cars.

Amid public uproar since Sunday evening, the Army first described the four as overground workers (OGWs) or accomplices of the two militants but later stepped back to call them ''individuals'' from whose cars the militant opened fire on an Army vehicle check post.

Family members of the dead civilians have accused the Army of killing them in cold blood. The Jammu and Kashmir police said they will investigate the circumstances that led to their killing.

The incident, second in last six weeks where civilians have been killed in Army firing, has badly hit the chances of peace returning to the Valley.

Sources said the wave of civilian deaths, post the killing of Burhan Wani in the summer of 2016, had started to come down in last few months but few ugly incidents have again rattled the Mehbooba Mufti government. The government was hoping for tourists and some big ticket development projects like national highway, smart city and a few road tunnels leading to Ladakh to appease the people, they added.

The killings of four civilians offset that. Mufti contradicted the Army's version, saying that the civilians killed in Shopian were caught in 'crossfire'. She even expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.

Army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said two militants, one at the site of the shootout and another in an orchard, and four civilians were killed when a mobile vehicle check post near Pohan in Shopian signalled a car to stop, but the driver refused.

He said the army men were fired upon and they retaliated, in which a militant was killed. He said a weapon and a pouch were found near the militant's body and three OGWs were also "found dead". "When police was called in, they found a car some distance away in which another boy was found dead," he said.

Early on Monday, body of another militant was found in an apple orchard in Saidapora village, some miles away from the spot.

The militant, Ashiq Hussain, was affiliated with LeT. Kalia said the three boys were OGWs and accomplices of the slain militants. An Army officer in Shopian told media that they want to appeal to locals to not accompany militants. ''We want safety of the youth and appeal to their parents to discourage their kids to mix with terrorists,'' he said.

The families of the dead civilians and local villagers refuted the army charges saying their kids were not remotely associated with militants. ''This is a blatant lie. The kids were innocent,'' an elderly relative told CNN-News18.

Family of Gowhar Ahmad Lone, a resident of Chitragam village, said he was travelling to his home after a regular medical check-up at a district hospital in Pulwama when he was shot.

“When the car he was driving reached Pinzura, it came under heavy fire and he was hit by at least four bullets. He died inside the car and his body was found almost half a kilometre away from the site where the army said militants fired at a mobile checkpoint,” his relative said.

Gowhar was a student pursuing an MPed degree from a college in Maharashtra.

Shabir Ahmad Lone, a cousin of Gowhar, said the Army killed his cousin who had "nothing to with militancy".

Locals told media that Sohail Khalil Wagay (22), a resident of Pinjura Shopian, had gone to drop his mother at his sister's home and was returning with some labourer when he was shot dead along with two others.

“I want to know what his fault was,” his neighbour said.

Mohammad Abbas, Sohail’s brother, said he had called home 30 minutes before the shootout, saying he had reached Pehlipora after dropping his mother.

"After half an hour, we heard about his killing along with two youth. The Army is lying that he or others were OGWs," he said.

On Monday, Peoples Democratic Party leader and Shopian MLA, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, released a statement, saying, "When your heart bleeds and you are emotionally amputated, no condemnation is enough.''

''Every time a civilian is killed it (mere condemnation) is not enough and no circumstances can justify these civilian killings," he added.

Meanwhile, reacting to separatist bandh call, the authorities clamped restrictions in old city areas. Schools and colleges will remain shut for next two days. All examinations have been postponed. Internet speed was slowed down and train services halted across the valley.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was arrested when he tried to take out a protest in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar. In his brief interaction with press, Malik blamed the local politicians for what he called strengthening the hands of Centre in carrying out genocide of Kashmiris.