Hundreds join the funeral prayers of two youths killed in Army firing in Chattergam area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district late Monday evening. Photo: Faisal Khan
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission Wednesday issued notice to the defence ministry and the Jammu and Kashmir police over the killing of two youths in firing by the Army, said a statement.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, the commission issued notice to the secretary, ministry of defence, and the superintendent of police of Budgam district, calling for a response within two weeks.
Two teenage boys – Faisal Yousuf and Mehrajuddin Dar – were killed when army men opened fire on their Maruti car on Nov 3. The slain youth hail from Nowgam area and were friends. Although an army statement said, “The youths were travelling in a car and as claimed by the Army, they did not pay heed to signals to stop at the barriers set up by the security forces,” a government inquiry into the killings has contradicted the claims made by them that the car in which the youths were travelling tried to “sped away” when asked to stop in Chattergam.
As per the inquiry report, five persons were travelling in the car and they were all residents of Nowgam. An eyewitness account recorded by the committee states that the Maruti 800 car was stopped by the Army naka party and it “skidded off the road and hit a pole on the road side”.
“In the meantime one of the detachment of the naka party fired upon the vehicle, resulting into death of Burhan alias Faisal and Mehraj-ud-Din,” the report says.
Two more youths were injured in the firing incident who have been identified as Shakir and Zahid.
Ishfaq Ahmad, quoting his brother, Zahid, told KNS news agency that their car skidded as a speeding load carrier was about to run over them.
“The driver tried to save us and in the process our car ran into an electric pole. All of a sudden, Army started firing,” he said.
The fifth, Basim, emerged unscathed in the attack and ran away from the spot.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah Monday said the victims have “no connection” with the insurgency in the region and his party has demanded revocation of AFSPA, a draconian legislation which provides immunity to government forces from prosecution in civil courts.
