Friday, March 29, 2024

900 detained in Kashmir following civilian killings

Kashmir mother dies of heart attack

On 10 October, Jammu and Kashmir Police summoned Aijaz Ah Bhat, 23, to the police station for interrogation. At the station, he was informed that he has been detained again.

Bhat, imam at a local masjid in Chandakote village, was among over 900 Kashmiris detained in a week, as authorities intensified crackdown across Kashmir valley following the civilian killings.

Aijaz was in jail for three months during the 2016 uprising when militant commander Burhan Wani was killed.

“Whenever something happens, police detain him,” complains Adil Bhat, Aijaz’s younger brother.

Since 2 October, seven civilians, including four from the minority communities, have been killed in the valley. Srinagar had witnessed six civilian killings, alarming the authorities of aggressive militant actions in Kashmir.

Police are detaining mostly people affiliated with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, stone-throwers or people on the suspected list of Over Ground Workers (OGW).

According to Kashmirwala, the National Investigation Agency, who are part of the investigation into the murder of school principal Supinder Kour and teacher Deepak Chand, has summoned over 40 government teachers.

On Monday, five Army personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), and two militants were killed in four encounters that raged between security forces and hiding militants in different parts of Kashmir within 12 hours.

Security forces killed two ultras, including a The Resistance Front (TRF) militant behind a civilian killing last week, in two separate operations.

Vijay Kumar Singh, Inspector General of Police, claimed that Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant killed in Bandipora was involved in the recent killing of sumo driver at Shahgund.

“Killed militant has been identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar affiliated with proscribed militant outfit LeT (TRF). He was involved in recent civilian killings at Shahgund Bandipora (sic),” Kashmir police tweeted.

But Dar’s family has alleged that it was a staged encounter after arresting him.

During the searches at Kulgam and Srinagar district, two TRF operatives arrested by NIA have been identified as Tawseef Ahmed Wani, a resident of Baramulla and Faiz Ahmed Khan, a resident of Anantnag.

Tauseef is a 20-year-old final year student at a government degree college in Baramulla.

According to the police, a total of 28 civilians have been killed by militants in 2021. Out of 28, five persons belong to local Hindu and Sikh communities and two persons are non-local Hindu labourers, while 21 are Muslims.

Malik Nisar
Malik Nisar
Malik Nisar is an independent journalist based in Kashmir.
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