Protests in J-K after killing of Gujjar man

SRINAGAR, APRIL 2: Protests rocked a remote south Kashmir hamlet following the killing of a 32-year-old Gujjar early on Wednesday morning. J-K Police have registered a case against the Army even as the force regretted the killing and said it would institute an inquiry into the incident.

Soldiers of 42 Rashtriya Rifles killed Gamia Gujjar at Branpathrinagbal village of south Kashmir’s Tral town. As the residents of Machama, the native village of Gamia, and its adjacent villages learned about the killing, they took to streets raising slogans against the Army.

Accusing the Army of killing the man in cold blood, the villagers said soon after the incident, the Army forced them indoors and didn’t allow them to move out.

The Army, however, termed the incident a case of mistaken identity. “We regret his killing,” Brigadier P S Patil of Sector 1 of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) told The Indian Express. “This was a clear case of mistaken identity. There was no crossfire or any other incident. We don’t cook up stories.”

Brigadier Patil said the Army would order an inquiry into the incident and see how such incidents could be prevented in future. “We would find out what led to this killing,” he said, adding the victim’s family would be adequately compensated.

The Army said they had laid a cordon around the village after information about the presence of militants, and when it was still dark on Wednesday, they noticed some movement and asked the person to stop. “But he (Gamia) ran away,” Brigadier Patil said. “He was challenged. When he didn’t stop, the soldiers fired, killing him on the spot. In the morning, the soldiers found that he was unarmed. He was a civilian and mentally challenged.”

As Awantipora SP Sardar Khan reached the village, the people were allowed to move out. The villagers soon took to the streets and started raising slogans. They were pacified only after the SP assured them of a probe into the matter. In fact, soon after, the J-K police registered a case against the Army.

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