The Army has not submitted a report to the inquiry panel that is investigating the deaths of three civilians at Ganowpora village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on January 27, Rising Kashmir reported on Thursday.
Shopian Deputy Commissioner Aijaz Assad, who is conducting the inquiry, told the newspaper that he had written to the headquarters of the Army unit involved in the incident, asking for its version of the events. However, they responded, asking him to seek the details from the 10th Garhwal Rifles unit itself. The Army unit, however, has not yet responded to his letter.
Assad said the main witnesses too have not yet appeared before him and the administration was trying to persuade them to record their statements. “What would be the outcome of an inquiry unless eyewitnesses give their statements?” he asked. “They [witnesses] have said that they will decide on it. We are waiting for them.”
The official said that he had collected reports from areas near the village. “We have got some statements from the peripheral areas of the incident site but not exactly from the place of incident, which is required,” he said.
On January 27, the soldiers had objected to a black flag with Islamic inscriptions that was strung across a lane in Ganowpara village. Their demand to remove the flag, commonly associated with the global jihadist organisation Islamic State, did not go down well with the villagers, who took it as an infringement on their religious beliefs. This triggered the clashes, with the protestors pelting the Army convoy with stones. Three men were killed after the Army opened fire.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police had filed a case against the 10th Garhwal Rifles unit. The Army had filed a counter FIR and claimed that the protestors had provoked the soldiers “to the ultimate”. The police had named Major Aditya Kumar in its First Information Report. However, on February 12, the Supreme Court stayed criminal proceedings against the officer and restrained the police from taking any coercive steps.
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