Three Civilians Shot Dead in Kashmir, Army Statements Contradict Eyewitness Accounts Yet Again

In three days, Shopian district of Kashmir has witnessed two incidents of army firing, leaving two militants and three civilians dead. On January 24, an encounter occurred between militants and the army in Chaigund village, killing two militants and a 17-year-old. On Saturday, three days later, two Kashmiri boys lost their lives to the army open firing into a crowd in Ganawpora village.

After Saturday’s incident, press statements issued by the army said that an army convoy passing through Ganavpora came under “unprovoked and intense stone-pelting.”

Eyewitnesses and residents of the village gave a different account. Rising Kashmir reported that the army came to the village to remove black flags. After the villagers refused to take down the flag, things got heated between them and the army. This caused the soldiers to retreat initially. But they came back around 2pm in greater numbers and opened fire from inside their vehicles.

An army spokesman made a statement saying, “A junior commissioned officer accompanying the convoy got hit on the head and fell unconscious. He was seriously injured. The mob tried to lynch the individual and snatch his weapon. The violent crowd further closed in towards the vehicles and attempted to set them on fire.” In self-defence, the army open-fired, the spokesman said.

Locals made statements saying it was impossible to try and snatch a soldier’s weapon when they were firing from inside their vehicles.

The two boys who died were Suhail Lone, a 17-year-old class 12 student and 20-year-old Javaid Ahmed Bhat.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has ordered a probe into the incident, but families of the victims have said they have no hope from such probes. Abdul Rashid, Javaid’s father, was quoted saying, “It is useless to wait for the government report which is expected to come within 20 days. Show me a single instance when the magisterial probe has achieved anything in hundreds of like incidents since 1989.”

Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, CPI(M) leader and MLA of Kulgam, asked the government how long will the blood of civilians continue to flow in Kashmir. “I have no words to condemn these killings, as a mere condemnation every time a civilian is killed isn’t enough. We want to ask the state government that how long the civilian killings will continue in Kashmir? Ordering a probe after every such killing is not a solution to the problem as people have lost the faith in such probes. The law enforcing agencies are refusing to draw lessons from previous such experiences. The indifferent and callous attitude of those in power in Delhi and Srinagar is only inflaming the already worsening situation further,” he said.

While other political parties also made statements condemning the killings, BJP MLA Ravinder Raina addressed the media and said the "army did the right thing.” An FIR was lodged against the army for the killings, but Raina said it doesn't matter as the army enjoys impunity under AFSPA.