TWO YOUTH were killed allegedly in army firing in the wee hours of Sunday (June 30) in Sumbal area of Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to protests by the local residents.
“Two youth have been killed in army firing this morning. It is a very unfortunate incident,” Minister for Higher Education Mohammad Akbar Lone, who is also the local MLA, said.
The deceased have been identified as Irfan Ahmad Ganaie and Irshad Ahmad Dar, both residents of Markundal village in Sumbal area.
Local residents staged a protest against the killings which took place at around 3.30 am, alleging that the army firing was unprovoked.
The Army said while it had no hand in the killing of one youth, the other died when troops opened fire in self-defence.
“Based on intelligence inputs about movement of militants through the area, an ambush was laid. Shots were heard outside the cordon area and later it was found that one youth has been killed,” an army official said.
He said some time later when the army ambulance was carrying doctors and other staff, a mob attacked it and tried to set the vehicle on fire.
“The troops opened fire in self-defence, which resulted in the death of the second youth,” the army official added.
Hundreds of villagers gathered to protest the teenager’s death early on Sunday, throwing rocks at withdrawing soldiers who opened fire, killing one person and injuring three others, Kashmir’s police chief Abdul Gani Mir said.
‘The army had laid a cordon during which a firing incident took place. One person was killed,’ Mir said of the military operation.
Police have launched an investigation into the army’s actions to determine what happened in both incidents, Mir said.
‘Police have registered a case against the army,’ he said.
An uncle of the 17-year-old boy said they noticed two private vehicles outside their home late at night. They went outside to investigate, thinking someone was trying to steal their cattle, he said.
“Suddenly the soldiers fired a burst of bullets at us. My nephew was hit in his head and he died on the spot,” Nazir Ahmad said by phone.
Security has been stepped up across Indian Kashmir after a series of attacks by militants on security forces in recent months including two last week in Srinagar in which eight soldiers and two policemen were killed.
The attack was one of the deadliest by militants in years and came on the eve of a rare visit to the disputed region by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
