Mob torches 2 Army vehicles after timber smuggler’s death in Shopian shootout

Murder case registered against Army; 26 soldiers injured; Army hqs takes exception to Police action

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 24: For the first time in 21 years of armed insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir, angry civilian crowds today torched two vehicles of Army and left 26 soldiers injured in a clash after a timber smuggler got killed and one of his associates sustained injuries in Rashtriya Rifles firing during a pre-dawn ambush in Kellar area of Shopian district in south Kashmir. Police have pacified the crowds with registration of a murder case against security forces but the Army Headquarters in New Delhi are understood to have taken strong exception to the Police action and taken up the matter with the union Minister of Defence, A K Antony.

Informed sources told Early Times that in the wee hours today, troops of Rashtriya Rifles 53 Bn opened fire during an ambush near Chewan village in Kellar area of Shopian. One local timber smuggler, namely Ghulam Ahmed Kalas alias Khuda Bakhsh S/o Pir Bakhsh R/o Batfojan got killed and his associate, Manzoor Ahmed Lone S/o Ghulam Mohammad Lone, sustained gunshot injuries. Their associate, Mohammad Yusuf Lone, was captured alive. Some reports claimed that he escaped unhurt and informed the villagers about Khuda Bakhsh’s death in the shootout. Both horses of the timber smugglers also died on the spot.

As the news of Khuda Bakhsh’s death in the Army firing spread like a wild fire through the announcements made on public address system of local mosques, hundreds of people from nearby villages rushed towards the jungle and recovered the dead body. The injured smuggler was also rescued and rushed to hospital with a gunshot wound in his leg. Doctors kept him under treatment and declared him stable.

Within a couple of hours nearly 3,000 people gathered and formed a demonstration while shouting anti-India, anti-Army, pro-Pakistan and pro-Azadi slogans. Even as the authorities arrived in to control the situation, mobs launched an offensive directly on Army, forcing them to retreat while leaving two of their vehicles behind. The crowds, armed with stones and batons, caused extensive damage to both the vehicles and finally set them on fire. Within minutes, both the vehicles were reduced to ashes and mangled remains.

Sources said that about 30 soldiers and demonstrators sustained injuries in the clash, though Army observed restraint and went on back foot in absence of riot controlling hardware. Sources said that troops decided to retreat after some rounds of firing failed to disperse the crowds. Two more demonstrators sustained gunshot wounds in the firing. Both of them were later evacuated to hospital where doctors provided them necessary treatment but declared them stable.

Independent reports said that 26 troopers, 3 Police personnel and 15 to 20 of the demonstrators sustained injuries in these clashes. DC Shopian, Abdul Majeed Khandey, and SP Shopian, Shahid Meraj, reached the spot and succeeded in pacifying the crowds with the assurance of filing a murder case against Army and proceeding against the soldiers involved in opening fire under law. Subsequently case FIR No: 168 of 2010 under section 302 RPC was registered at Police Station Kellar against troops of RR 53 Bn on the complaint of the local residents. Police had earlier registered another FIR on Army’s complaint against the civilian population for destroying two of their vehicles and causing injuries to over two dozen soldiers in heavy stone pelting.

Residents conducted funeral rituals and burial of the dead body only after learning about registration of murder case against Army.

SP Shopian, Shahid Meraj, told Early Times that troops of a Pulwama-based unit of RR 53 Bn had launched the operation and laid the ambush without following the standard operating procedure of taking along a Police party and informing the district Police chief. He said that one person, reportedly a timber smuggler, got killed alongwith two horses and one more smuggler sustained injuries when troops opened fire. He said that, according to the reports available with him, the timber smugglers had walked into the ambush and troops had opened fire after probably suspecting them as militants.

SP Shopian said that the crowds torched the Army vehicles as troops were equipped with heavy firearms and had no riot control hardware which is normally carried by Police and paramilitary forces. He said that perishing of the two Army vehicles was the minimum possible damage in such a situation.

However, highly placed authoritative sources revealed to this newspaper that on the strongly worded complaints from headquarters of Awantipore-based Victor Force, headquarters of Srinagar-based 15 Corps and Udhampur-based headquarters of Northern Command, Army high command in New Delhi had taken strong exception to the “partisan action” of Police and civil administration. According to these sources, Army Headquarters had decided to take up this matter with the union Defence Secretary and union Minister of Defence, A K Antony.

It has been pointed out with extraordinary concern that after making routine attacks on Police, CRPF and BSF for many times in the past, civilian crowds have begun to launch direct attacks on the regular troops of Army. Two vehicles had earlier this year suffered some damage in the first incident of this year’s attack on Army in Rawalpora outskirts of Srinagar. This is, however, for the first time in 21 years of separatist movement and armed insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir that a mob has torched Army’s vehicles.

A Defence spokesman at headquarters of 15 Corps said in a press release that troops had launched the search operation on inputs from (Pulwama) Police in Chawan, Abhama as some terrorists were expected to make movement.

“At around 4.15 A.M on 24 April, three persons entered the cordon from outside the village. On being challenged, they started running away leading to own troops opening fire. One person was killed, another injured and the third one was apprehended and handed over to the police. At day break, a large crowd of local residents gathered in the area and resorted to stone pelting. Police reinforcements were rushed to the area to bring the situation under control. Despite the efforts of Commanding Officer of the Rashtriya Rifles Unit to control the situation, and in the presence of the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police Shupiyan, the crowd took law in their own hands and burnt two Army vehicles, which had got stuck in the muddy area. Though troops on the ground exercised utmost restraint, any act of destroying Government property will not be tolerated. A high level inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident”, he said.

Making an addition in the evening, the spokesman said: “On further investigations by higher military authorities, it has been revealed that when crowds swelled near the military vehicles, people from Chawan Village resorted to heavy stone pelting in which 23 troops were injured including four seriously. Two army men have sustained head injuries.
”Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police and the police took charge of the situation and asked troops to disengage. In the meanwhile, the residents of the village resorted to heavy stone pelting and torched the vehicles. An FIR has been lodged with Station House Officer, Police Station Kellar enclosing video coverage of the whole incident with a request to identify the culprits and bring them to book under relevant legal provisions.
”It is once again reiterated that damage to any government property cannot and will not be tolerated at any cost and all actions as permissible under the law will be taken to thwart such blatantly illegal and disruptionist action”.

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