‘Deliberate murder’ surfaces as Police handiwork
Teenager’s dead body buried amid violent clashes, anti-India demonstrations

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jun 12: Death of an 18-year-old student in mysterious circumstances, which had been described by Police as “deliberate murder” in an official press release last night, has turned out to be the handiwork of none other than Jammu & Kashmir Police. Even as an inquiry, to be conducted by DIG Srinagar, has been ordered into the circumstances that led to the student’s killing and a team of doctors is ascertaining the cause of death, Government has learned through credible inputs that Tufail Ahmed Matoo S/o Mohammad Ashraf Matoo R/o Sayeeda Kadal, Srinagar, has died when he was hit in his head by a tearsmoke shell in an incident of stone pelting by a group of youngsters at Gani Memorial Sports Stadium in downtown Srinagar last evening. Matoo’s dead body was buried today amid violent clashes and anti-India demonstrations in half of the capital city.

Highly placed official sources today revealed to Early Times that with the help of “credible inputs”, Government had now learned that the class 12th student, Tufail Ahmed Matoo, had got fatally hit into his head by a tearsmoke shell, fired by Police during an incident of stone pelting by a group of youngsters, at Gani Stadium in Rajouri Kadal area last evening. They said that the officials responsible for “overreaction” were being identified and action would be initiated against them on the basis of a departmental inquiry and the post mortem report, both expected on Monday next.

According to these sources, a team of the doctors of Srinagar police Hospital had collected the material from the dead body and the post mortem was being conducted under the supervision of a forensic expert from Government Medical College, srinagar.

IGP Kashmir, Farooq Ahmed, said that a departmental inquiry would be conducted by DIG Srinagar, Deepak Kumar, into the circumstances that led to Matoo’s killing and the cause of death would be ascertained by a team of doctors who had collected necessary material and were currently busy with the autopst procedure. He said that action under law would be initiated against the Police officials if they were found guilty of violating Standard Operational Procedure or any form of overreaction to the violent demonstration by a group of civilians.

With Police itself emerging as the actor of the ‘deliberate murder’, Matoo’s dead body was handed over by officials today to his relatives and family members. Sensing trouble, authorities had already enforced undeclared curfew in the hypersensitive areas falling under the jurisdiction of five Police stations of Rainawari, Nowhatta, Khanyar, MR Gunj and Safakadal. Officials refused to call it curfew and insisted that these were precautionary measures adopted to pre-empt turbulence.

Businesses and government offices remained shut in half of the capital city though there was little impact of the spontaneous bandh in uptown localities. Attendance was, however, thin at the government offices and banks that functioned normally in Civil Lines and other uptown localities.

Immediately after the dead body was delivered at Sayeeda Kadal, Rainawari, hundreds of people gathered in the locality and began shouting pro-Azadi and anti-India slogans. This triggered off a streak of clashes and demonstrations in dozens of localities from Rainawari to Bemina through Nallah Maar Road. Angry demonstrators resorted to heavy stone pelting on Police and CRPF at several places and even demolished three of the paramilitary bunkers. Police used tearsmoke, firing in air and baton charge to disperse the crowds. Traffic on the national High Way remained intermittently disrupted as the violent mobs pelted stones on all kinds of vehicles at Tengpora, Bemina and SKIMS Medical College.

Matoo’s dead body was carried in a procession to Eidgah, through Nowhatta and Nallah Maar Road amid intermitten clashes between the demonstrators and Police. Namaz-e-Janazah, followed by burial, tool place at Mazaar-e-Shuhada on the spacious Eidgah Grounds where a number of separatist leaders, including Chairman of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Chairman of JKLF Mohammad Yasin Malik, were also present. Inspite of an anarchical situation, some of the separatist leaders addressed the gathering of 5,000 to 10,000 people. Senior police officials put the number of participants at 4,000.

Independent reports said that nearly 60 people, including 20 J&K Police personnel, 15 CRPF personnel, 7 mediapersons and 18 common civilians and demonstrators, sustained injuries in today’s violent clashes between Police and demonstrators at about 20 places in Srinagar. IGP Kashmir, Farooq Ahmed, however insisted that 16 Police personnel and 6 civilians had got injured. He said that the worst clash occurred at Dana Mazar where an unruly crowd attacked a Police constable, Noor Mohammad Bangroo, and left him critically injured. He said that a civilian too sustained critical injuries in the same clash as the people alleged that a CRPF personnel hit him mercilessly with his gun. He said that Constable Mushtaq Ahmed, who had sustained grievous injuries in a similar attack by a mob here last evening, was battling for life at SKIMS, Soura.

After keeping him under “house arrest’ at his Hyderpora residence, Police have detained hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, at Humhama.

Meanwhile, Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chairperson, Asiya Andrabi, has called for “social boycott” to all J&K Police personnel with the allegation that they had taken over the role of killing innocent Kashmiri civilians for the appeasement and pleasure of the Indian state. In a statement issued here this evening, Mrs Andrabi has asked the Kashmiris to sever their contact with each and every Policeman and also ban their entry into mosques all over the Valley.

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