‘Can’t hold one agency responsible’

2010 Killings

Families want govt jobs than punishment to guilty: Commission 

Srinagar: Retired Justice  M L Koul who heads one-man judicial commission to probe the killing of over 120 civilians during unrest in Kashmir Valley in 2010 Tuesday claimed that the families of the victims are interested in securing government jobs rather than punishing the guilty government forces personnel. Koul claimed that except four families all the families of the 2010 victims have received an exgratia of Rs 5 lakhs each from the Government of India.

Refuting the allegations that Commission is buying time, Justice Koul told CNS that all the statements that the Commission had recorded and the petitions it had received were washed away in last year’s flood fury. “The office of the Commission located in the ground floor at Civil Secretariat was hit by floods and we lost all the records. We are on the job and so far we have received some 62 petitions regarding the killing of over 120 youth in 2010 summer agitation,” he said.

Responding to a question, Koul said that it is difficult to blame a particular security agency for 2010 killings. “CRPF was not the only agency present in the field in 2010. There was local police, counter insurgency group SOG, Army and men from other agencies to control the situation. Blaming a particular agency for the killings is not fair. Most of the witnesses fail to raise a finger on a particular agency and they only maintain either police or CRPF men killed his relative. It is very difficult to hold a particular security man responsible for the killing,” Koul said.

When asked Police in its FIR has categorically maintained that Rafeeqa Banoo wife of Abdul Gani Teeli of Omapora Budgam was killed by target fire on 13 September 2010 by security men, Koul said that Commission agrees it was a target killing but the difficulty is that FIR does not mention the agency responsible for the killing. He said that in some cases the witnesses have mentioned the name of the agency and the Commission will direct them to appear before it in appropriate time.

“You will not believe, most of the victims demand government jobs and are not interested in punishing the guilty. They accuse Commission of buying time because the Commission can provide them government jobs. Each family has taken Rs five lakh each from the Government of India and we will recommend GoI to provide them more financial assistance,” he said. (CNS)    

Families Accuse Commission of Buying Time

Srinagar: Scores of  families of the victims of 2010 killings from different districts of Kashmir Valley Tuesday staged a protest and alleged that Commission appointed by the government is buying time and is in no mood to deliver ‘justice’ to them.

“Bring perpetrators to book and show objectivity”, scores of people including men, women and children this afternoon assembled at press enclave and staged protest demonstrations against the government for allegedly failing to punish the accused who killed over 100 youth during 2010 summer agitation.

Farooq Ahmad Kuchay, whose brother Nisar Ahmed Kuchay was killed during a protest demonstration at Humhama Budgam, accused the government of shielding the guilty police and CRPF personal who opened fire on unarmed protesters without any provocation on 13 September 2010.

“Besides three other persons my younger brother Nisar Ahmad Kuchay, a BA Final year student, also fell to the bullets of security forces. They were protesting against the desecration of holy Quran and were not the part of any anti India protest,” Kuchay said.

 He said that the affected families whose family members became victim of ‘barbarism’ are still craving for justice.

He accused the state judiciary and the commissions constituted by the government of shielding the guilty.

“We cannot expect justice form judiciary as five years have already  elapsed but not a single person has been identified and booked as of now. The governments constituted Koul Commission making dillydallying tactics by overstretching the investigations,” he claimed.

The protesters claimed that at least four people including a female were killed after the police, Special Task Force (STF) and CRPF opened indiscriminate firing on protesters.

They identified the people as Nisar Ahmad Kuchay, Adil Ahmad Teli, Gulam Rasool Tantray and Rafiqa Bano.

Bangroo, a resident of Noorbagh Srinagar said that his brother Rafiq Ahmed Bangroo was first captured by CRPF troopers and then beaten to death. “There was no stone-pelting going around anywhere on that day. My brother was on his way to home along with cousins when CRPF troopers chased them. My two cousins managed to escape but Rasool was caught and beaten to death,” he alleged.

Muhammad Maqbool Bhat, a resident of Tappar Pattan said that his brother Ghulam Rasool Bhat (24) was shot dead by CRPF when he was lifting the body of another youth killed by the same troopers during a protest march.

The protesters appealed to Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to impress upon the probe commission to expedite investigations so that the guilty are brought to book.

“It’s quite unfortunate that police even did not bother to lodge an FIR into most of the killings, what more one can expect from this paralyzed system. We want the government to immediately identify the perpetrators else we would be forced to take an extreme step which will rattle the very matrix of this ‘corrupt’ system,” said a protester.

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