The Leader of the Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Omar Abdullah, on Friday asked the Mehbooba Mufti government to set up a special investigation team to carry out an inquiry into the deaths of civilians in Shopian district, PTI reported.
Three people were killed after the Army fired at protestors who were pelting a convoy with stones on January 27.
“After police filed FIR, now Army has filed a counter FIR,” Kashmir Monitor quoted Abdullah as saying. The investigating officer, he added, would find it difficult to investigate the incident. “So we demand a high-level special investigation team to be constituted to look into Shopian matter.”
The magisterial investigation that the state government has ordered can continue separately, the National Conference leader said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, meanwhile, disputed reports that said the Army had filed an FIR in the case. “It has only presented its version of the incident,” she told the Assembly.
Mufti had earlier dismissed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s concern that the police’s First Information Report would demoralise the Army, and said the FIR would be taken to its logical conclusion.
The Army, in its defence had claimed that that the protestors had provoked the soldiers of the 10th Garhwal Rifles unit “to the ultimate”.
On January 27, the soldiers objected to a black flag with Islamic inscriptions perched across a lane in Ganowpara village. Their demand to remove the flag, commonly associated with the Islamic State jihadist group, did not go down well with the villagers, who took it as an infringement on their religious beliefs. This triggered the clashes.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!