12 of Omar’s SSPs, SPs, Dy SPs fall in the dock
COI in 17 deaths: Eyewash, confusion or concession to separatists?

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, July 28: Omar Abdullah government’s order of inquiry into seventeen deaths in the Valley clashes from June 11th to July 11th is bound to end up as damp squib for more than one reason. It has evoked no positive reaction from the quarters that are sought to be pacified with surrender after surrender and concession after concession from Gupkar Road. On the other hand, it has directly brought a full dozen of SSPs, SPs and Dy SPs into the dock---raising questions over their continuance on key positions. They will be, now on, spending more time in defending themselves before the judicial inquiry than dealing with law and order problems, counter-insurgency operations and supervision of routine criminal investigation.

Even by a common man’s logic, current spell of turbulence---second in the last 18 months of the NC-led coalition government---has been yielding for the Kashmiri separatists. For the first time since the amalgam was floated in 1993, Hurriyat and its breakaway constituents have succeeded to bring the state on kneels. Omar Abdullah’s government has evidently gone into a panic mode. Like an ordinary Kashmiri on the streets, Hurriyat too must have noticed the somersaults coming in abundance from the Civil Secretariat. Next administrative reshuffle comes with reversal of the decisions taken in previous Cabinet meeting.

Nobody understands the logic of posting local SSPs in sensitive Police districts in the Valley. In the latest shake up in J&K Police, Government has appointed Mansoor Ahmed Untoo as SSP of the Valley’s worst turbulent district of Baramulla. He happens to be a resident of the Valley’s top flash point of trouble---Sopore town and has never held a district level position in executive Police. In the same reshuffle, Government has appointed Bashir Ahmed Khan as SSP of the Valley’s third worst affected district---Anantnag. Though putting up at his own house in Srinagar for several years, Khan and his family are residents of the same locality which is ‘famous’ for stone pelters in south Kashmir.

Government has also posted Mohammad Sayeed Panoo as SP of Awantipore. Panoo is a resident of the highway township of Bijbehara, situated in close vicinity of Awantipore.

All these appointments have come at a time when nobody is coming forward to take up the challenging assignment of heading a Police district. Almost all IPS officers too have managed to escape to Vigilance, Traffic, CID and other non-sensitive positions. Of late, Government has been desperately trying to woo same Police officers who had been marginalized and punished with insignificant postings just a year ago. A many of them had been picked up for witch hunting with public allegations of their being “members of PDP”. A number of SSPs and SPs are already in jail like Manohar Singh or suspended like Javed Iqbal Matoo.

In the state Police’s worst era of demoralization, Government has now ordered a court of inquiry into seventeen deaths that occurred during the course of clashes and street demonstrations in the Valley from June 11th to July 11th. “This is an eyewash. Government has no intention of investigating deaths or punishing the killers. Whenever, there is sincerely an action, government does not order inquiries” is invariably the reaction from a common man today. Everybody refers to Ghulam Nabi Azad’s action against former SP of Ganderbal, Hans Raj Parihar and Omar Abdullah’s action in getting BSF Commanding Officer Birdi arrested in Zahid Farooq killing episode and points out that there was action, no commission on inquiry.

Official statistics are appallingly revealing. There have been more than 400 magisterial and judicial inquiries in civilian killings in the last 20 years of turmoil. Not more than a dozen investigation reports have seen the light of the day. Necessary follow up action has been witnessed in just a few matters. Who then is going to believe that Omar Abdullah is sincerely at work. Those who tend not to forget things quickly, even refer to the young Chief Minister’s “conveniently forgotten” election promise of ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission”.

Government has ordered the Court of Inquiry, to be headed by former J&K High Court judge, Bashiruddin, at a time when district Police chiefs were under express orders of detaining “maximum number of hooligans”. Detention under PSA of the all influential separatist advocate, Mian Qayoom, and Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, first time since 1990, coupled by their lodgment in the “non-VIP” Hira Nagar and Rajuri jails was in itself a tough and terse statement flowing through command and control structure of J&K Police. These orders were significant in the wake of reports that scores of “hooligans” had been lately released over telephonic intervention of NC’s leaders, particularly a Minister and an Advisor to Chief Minister, to the extent that PDP President Mehbooba Mufti had found it easy to publicly allege that “the bad stone pelters are NC’s men”.

Now the grand reversal has perhaps completed the first phase of demoralization in J&K Police. According to Tuesday’s Cabinet orders, Justice Bashiruddin would have as many as 12 SSPs, SPs and Dy SPs of the state government accused before the Court. Seven of the deaths have occurred in Srinagar, four in Sopore and three each in Baramulla and Anantnag.

Those definitely to be questioned by the Court of Inquiry include lately appointed SSP of Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, his predecessor and now SSP of Special Branch Kashmir, Javed Riyaz Bedar, lately attached SSP of Baramulla, Sheikh Mehmood, former SSP of Anantnag and now SSP of Railway (Kashmir) Dr Showkat Ahmed Malik. Those in the dock also include indisputably the best performer in Srinagar, SP City (South) Mohammad Irshad, SP Sopore Altaf Khan and former SP City North, Abdul Rashid Ganai.

In addition to seven district and zonal district Police heads, as many as five Dy SPs will have to prove their innocence before the Court of Inquiry. However, it is not so far clear whether the DIGs of J&K Police would also be under the scanner. Terms of reference are also silent with regard to bringing CRPF under the ambit of the inquiry. “We feel we have no moral right to continue on sensitive positions as long as we are accused before the Court” said one of the SSPs who did not wish to be identified. He said that Government should remove all of the accused Police officers, including himself, from the key postings. “We are all guilty till proved innocent”, he added with a tinge of satire.

“We are no more going to confront a rampaging mob, even if there are orders from Chief Minister”, said another SP whose district has not, so far witnessed any casualty. According to him, nobody would question, in case any action was taken against the guilty in brazen incidents of SOP violation like the killing of three youth in Anantnag in seemingly unwarranted firing. “It’s unfortunate that cow slaughter is talk of the town and nobody speaks of the bull slaughter”, he said (in loose translation of a Kashmiri proverb) while insisting that Police had observed “maximum possible restraint” in most of the mob attacks on them. “We have horrible videos of the Policemen being lynched. But we don’t put them on YouTube and Facebook for the CM’s BlackBerry”.


END