CRPF CO’s escort under scanner for ATM guard’s murder

Police call for CCTV footage from SBI ATM, CRPF camps in Karan Nagar

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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SRINAGAR, Aug 4: Close-circuit TV footage of an ATM of State Bank of India (SBI) and some CRPF bunkers outside the entrance of Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar is likely to lead the investigators to breakthrough in the mysterious cold blooded murder of a youth, Riyaz Ahmad Shah, even as the escort personnel of a Commanding Officer (CO) are now under scanner.

Twenty-five-year-old Riyaz Ahmad Shah had been found dead close to GMC entrance by the driver of a load-carrier late on Tuesday night. X-Ray and preliminary post mortem report have established firing from a pump action gun as the cause of death as a massive field of No:9 pellets fired from a 12 bore gun is believed to have perforated Shah’s vital organs including his kidneys. Such kind of ‘non-lethal’ arms and ammunition, which can be fatal if fired from a short distance, are only in possession of Police and paramilitary forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources associated with the investigation revealed to STATE TIMES that Commanding Officer of CRPF 118 Bn Mr Premjeet had earlier on Tuesday travelled from his battalion headquarters of Gund in Kangan area to Srinagar in connection with some official engagements. At the end of the day, he called on the C.O. of CRPF 23 Bn, Mr R.M. Sampar, and stayed for some hours of the night at his residence in Karan Nagar. Both the officers are reportedly friends and residents of Manipur.

Meanwhile, Premjeet’s escort personnel went out to the SBI ATM most likely to withdraw cash. During the same period, around 10.00 p.m, Shah is believed to have been fired upon with a pump action gun in point blank range. Motive of the murder and identity of the killers are not still clear. No clash or disturbance was in Karan Nagar area when Shah fell to the pellets.

CRPF has checked arms and ammunition of all the men and sentries posted at a number of pillboxes around GMC. They have claimed that no ammunition was missing. Arms and ammunition of the escort personnel of Mr Premjeet are likely to be checked on Friday.

IG CRPF Srinagar, Atul Kirwal, and SSP Srinagar Amit Kumar today visited the spot and checked the CCTV footage. SSP Srinagar confirmed that Police have formally requisitioned CCTV footage from SBI’s ATM besides the camps and bunkers of CRPF 23 Bn located around the spot. “We checked some footage but its speed was extremely slow and nothing was clear as yet. We are sure to solve this murder case with our investigation”, SSP Amit Kumar said.

SSP said that Police had registered a murder case against ‘security forces’ but nobody had been named as suspect in the FIR as the identity of any accused was not yet clear. “We will add names as soon as someone surfaces as a suspect”, SSP said.

Both the CRPF COs are likely to be questioned by the investigators in a couple of days as the Government is said to be under tremendous pressure to solve this murder case and initiate action against the accused as it has potential of intensifying turbulence in the summer capital.

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[Published in today’s STATE TIMES]