The Hindu : National : Teenager’s body buried in Kashmir

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 07, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Teenager’s body buried in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Amid shutdown and chanting of anti-government slogans, the body of a 16-year-old boy, allegedly shot dead by security forces on Friday, was buried at Brain-Nishat, 12 km from here, on Saturday.

The killing of Zahid Farooq Shah sparked protests with the locals alleging that he was killed without any provocation by security personnel travelling in a vehicle.

Protesters shouted slogans denouncing the government as the body, which was handed over to the bereaved family after the post mortem this morning, was buried amidst a shutdown in the entire area.

The ruling National Conference and the separatists have demanded exemplary punishment to the guilty.

Addressing an emergency meeting of the party workers here, NC provincial president A.M. Dar demanded that those involved in the “cold-blooded murder” be hanged. But he asked the people to exercise restraint, as the government had ordered a probe.

“Innocent people were being targeted”

The hard-line faction of the Hurriyat, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, said: “Innocents are being killed on one pretext or the other daily. Force is being used against peaceful demonstrators, and youths are being implicated in false cases.”

The Opposition People’s Democratic Party said innocent people were being targeted.

“On the one hand, the State government is seeking the cooperation of people for restoring normality, on the other hand, it is targeting innocent people, especially the teenagers,” president Mehbooba Mufti said.

She said the government did not understand the anger of the youth. Any effort to solve the Kashmir problem would fail if the Kashmiris kept falling victim to the “state terror and repression.”

— PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National