BENGALURU/NEW DELHI Authorities should conduct effective, independent and impartial investigations into the killings of seven civilians by a blast in the aftermath of the Kulgam encounter, Amnesty India said on Wednesday.
In case of any direct or indirect violence between security forces and armed groups, extra caution should be exercised to ensure that civilians in the area do not become collateral damage. Safety of the civilian population should be of paramount importance, said Aakar Patel, Amnesty India.
Seven civilians were killed in Kashmirs Kulgam district on 21 October in an explosion at the site of the encounter between militants and government forces. The police claimed that the six of the civilians were killed by stray explosives after they rushed to the encounter site, despite a warning by government forces. The police, Amnesty said, has admitted that they withdrew from the encounter site without sanitising the area. The police later registered a case about the incident and has initiated an investigation.
What transpired in the aftermath of the Kulgam encounter is unfortunate and could have been avoided had the authorities taken extra caution to ensure that civilians would have access to the area only after proper sanitization of the encounter site was done. While we acknowledge that a case has been registered, we urge the authorities to ensure all those responsible for the incident are brought to justice for their failure to protect the human rights of the population of Jammu and Kashmir, said Aakar Patel.
Govt foils march to Kulgam
Authorities on Wednesday sealed off all roads leading to Kulgam to foil protest march called by Joint Resistance Leadership against the killing of seven civilians in the south Kashmir district on Sunday.
Officials said that restriction were imposed in sensitive areas in south Kashmir including Kulgam.
The JRL comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Mallik had appealed people, especially those living in south Kashmir districts to march towards village Laroo in Kulgam district to express sympathy and the solidarity with the families who lost their loved ones in the Kulgam massacre by Indian forces.
The march to Kulgam is to convey to the people of Laroo that people of entire Kashmir are with them and share their grief and pain and that they are not alone against the ultimate repression unleashed to crush the peoples demand for the right to self-determination, the JRL had said in the statement issued here.
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