Srinagar, May 14: National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday termed the killing of a civilian by paramilitary CRPF near Kawoosa Narbal as “very unfortunate” and demanded impartial investigation into the “circumstances surrounding this shooting.”
“Very unfortunate. The circumstances surrounding this shooting need to be impartially investigated & findings made known. My condolences to the family of the deceased,” Omar said in a tweet.
CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami said the “reckless killing” of an unarmed civilian at the hands of security personnel must be investigated in a “time bound, impartial manner and responsibility be fixed so that guilty is punished under law.”
“The justification given by the police for unfortunate killing of an innocent civilian is bizarre. Even if the claims of the police are true that the slain civilian jumped a checkpoint, CRPF men could have fired at the tyres of the vehicle he was driving instead of shooting him in the chest,” Tarigami said in a statement to GNS, adding, “How long the civilian killings will continue in Kashmir?”
Unarmed civilians getting killed, he said, is extremely unfortunate and condemnable. “Stop it now. Mere condemnation every time on such incidents isn’t enough,” he added.
J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) also has expressed anguish over the “loss of a precious life” and condemned the incident in strongest words.
“The firing on deceased shah should have been avoided, the loss of innocent lives has the potential to lead to the further alienation of the people,” JKPCC said and demanded a probe into the circumstances which led to the killing in order to “fix the responsibility.” “The loss of lives cannot be replaced by anything.”
Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) senior leader and former minster Ghulam Hassan Mir also condemned the killing and demanded a time-bound probe into the incident.
In a statement issued here, Mir termed the “use of excessive force in implementing lockdown over COVID pandemic as unjustified.” He asked the government to constitute a high level probe to identify and book the culprits as warranted under law.
“There are no words to express our grief over this avoidable loss of precious life. This unjustified use of force to enforce the COVID lockdown only adds to the alienation and resentment among the people,” he demanded.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) termed the killing as a “cold-blooded murder” and demanded stern action against those involved in such a heinous crime.
