The Hindu : Killing of civilians: FIR registered against Army

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 09, 2004

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Killing of civilians: FIR registered against Army

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, FEB. 8. Thousands of people today took to the streets in Bandipore town in north Kashmir, protesting against the killing of five civilians who had been used as "human shield" by the Army in an operation to flush out militants in Argam forests.

The protesters also attacked a police station and set a police vehicle on fire.

A case has been registered and an inquiry ordered into the incident.

Reports said that soldiers from JAK Rifles had taken seven civilians from the locality to the nearby woods where the Army had killed eight militants in an encounter on Thursday. Three soldiers were also killed in the fighting.

The locals found bodies of five of the civilians — Mohammad Yaqoob, Mohammad Aslam, Farooq Ahmed, Sakhi Mohammad and Ghulam Jeelani — this morning.

They were told that the militants killed these civilians while the Army was conducting a mopping up operation.

The protesters, however, refused to accept this. Around 10,000 people reached Bandipore town, shouting slogans against the Army, blaming it for the "cold blooded murder" of the innocent civilians. They went in a procession to the police station and indulged in violence.

A defence spokesman said here that the deceased had been working as porters with the Army and had been taken to the area for routine work. "As they reached there, the militants opened fire from their underground hideout and escaped," he said.

However, the locals refuted this version. One of them said that the civilians were picked up by the troops of JAK Rifles and "were used as human shields to launch an operation against the militants. They have never worked as porters for the Army.''

The Deputy Commissioner of Baramulla, Dheeraj Gupta, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Munir Khan, visited Bandipore and promised to take "stern action" against the Army.

Only after the authorities told the residents that a case would be registered did they agree to take the bodies for burial.

Mr. Gupta handed over cheques of Rs. 1 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.

When contacted, the Director-General of Police, Gopal Sharma, told The Hindu that a case had been registered and investigations had begun.

The Army had also instituted a separate inquiry, he said adding that the situation was under control.

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