Srinagar: Demanding an end to killings, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference (NC, and JKAP on Wednesday demanded impartial investigation into the Sopore civilian killing.
The trio parties demanded an impartial judicial probe of the incident in which a civilian lost his life.
PDP’s spokesman in a statement issued here said that, the videos and the pictures of the shootout and its aftermath have gone viral on social media with a 3-year-old kid becoming the unfortunate face of this mayhem.
He said that the family of the civilian killed in the shootout has given a statement which goes contrary to the official statement issued by the security agencies. “This needs to be probed at a high level and time-bound inquiry and impartial probe into the matter is what we demand from the government at present,” said the PDP spokesman.
Expressing grief and sympathy with the families of victims, NC in a statement issued here said that, “Targeting civilians, minors is condemnable, such barbaric incidents cannot be tolerated. The heart wrenching site of a dead man with the kid atop his chest has shaken every sane person. Incidents like these agitate one’s souls and conscience,” he said adding, “Such incidents can never be acceptable in any civilized society. It is therefore imperative upon the government to establish the verity behind the unfortunate incident. The veracity of the different versions will only come to forth following a time bound judicial probe into the matter.”
JKAP also demands time bound probe into civilian killing in Sopore.
In a statement issued here, a spokesman of the party said that the family version of the deceased and the circumstantial evidence, prima facie, suggest that Khan was killed in cold blood. “The government should order an impartial investigation into the circumstances that led to the killing of a civilian who was on the way to Sopore in connection with his personal work,” the spokesman added.
He said only a time bound and transparent probe into the incident can reveal the veracity of claims made by the family of the deceased. “The security forces should exercise maximum restraint in such situations and ensure that no collateral damage takes place during such incidents,” the JKAP spokesman observed.
Meanwhile, At least one CRPF jawan and a civilian were killed while two other security force personnel received injuries in a militant attack in Sopore town of Baramulla district on Wednesday, officials said.
