Kulgam, Sopore fail to cause 2010-type eruption

Mehbooba under house arrest, Geelani calls for shutdown over Sopore killing

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 1: Eight-month-long period of peace in the Valley seems to have survived two major tests as neither the alleged gang rape of a woman in Kulgam nor a brazen custodial killing in Sopore has led to a mass uprising like in the summer of 2008 and 2010.

Barring few minor incidents, no significant provocation had come from government agencies to the people in Valley since September 13^th 2010---the last episode of street violence and killing. The first major threat to peace surfaced last fortnight when 28-year-old Ruqayya W/o Lateef Bhatti of Gujjardhar (Manzgam), Kulgam, complained that she had been kidnapped, held in wrongful confinement and subjected to “gang rape” by two soldiers of the Indian army.

Unlike in several incidents last year, Government quickly filed an FIR, got the complainant’s as well as other witnesses’ statements recorded and also submitted the vaginal swabs to the FSL. Even as the FSL report is still under wraps, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told mediapersons at SKICC today that a breakthrough had been achieved. He asserted that it would be shared with the press and the common people in a couple of days.

Second serious threat to the season’s peace came from Sopore where the counter-insurgent Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu & Kashmir Police arrested a 27-year-old shopkeeper who died during the course of custodial interrogation. In 31-month-long Omar Abdullah government, one Manzoor Ahmed Baig had died in custody of SOG Srinagar on 19^th of May, 2009. It was quickly established a death due to cardiac arrest. Baig had been called to the SOG by an official and asked to return an amount of money he had borrowed from another civilian but had failed to liquidate the debt.

Registration of a murder case and immediate attachment of the head of SOG Sopore, Dy SP Ashiq Hussain Tak, came as an official confirmation of the custodial killing. On Sunday, as well as today, trouble remained restricted to Krankshivan Colony, in the periphery of the apple-rich township in north Kashmir. No major clash between the residents and Police/CRPF has been reported in the last 48 hours, though hundreds of people gathered at the funeral and shouted anti-India and pro-Azadi slogans. Late last night, Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, as also DC Baramulla, Bashir Ahmed Bhat, and DIG North Kashmir, Munir Khan, visited Sopore. They made a failed attempt to meet with members of the bereaved family. Nevertheless, their interaction with a number of influential citizens reduced tension to a great extent.

Today’s reports from Sopore indicated that vehicular traffic operated without any disruption, though most of the shops in the town remained shut. Small number of visitors to the bereaved family served as an indicator of the masses being not much involved.

Politicians are, nevertheless, making the best of their efforts to visit Sopore and create some trouble for the NC-Congress ruling coalition. Almost all of the Valley’s political and social organizations have condemned the custodial killing of the youth and made varied demands.

Chairman of the radical faction of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who happens to be a resident of Sopore area, today called for total shutdown on August 3^rd. He, significantly, complained that Nazim Rashid alias Naveed Anjum had been eliminated for he, according to Geelani, was an eyewitness to the killing of another civilian, Mohammad Ashraf Dar. Geelani said that the sequence of fresh killings in Sopore, including the death of Ashraf and Nazim Rashid, was the “handiwork of agencies”. Word “Indian” was significantly missing in his statement.

With many eyes on response to Geelani’s call, Omar Abdullah government has, for the first time, placed leader of the principal opposition party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti, under “house arrest”. She was not allowed to proceed to Sopore yesterday. Mehbooba attended District Development Board meeting of Shopian but was prevented from visiting Sopore in the afternoon today. She was forcibly lifted, alongwith a number of her party colleagues, from a dharna at the old TRC complex and confined to her official accommodation at Gupkar Road. Police put up a heavy lock on the main gate and served on her District Magistrate’s order that asked her to remain confined within the premises.

It was first time that District Magistrate has served such an order on a mainstream political leader in the last over two years.

Much remains to be seen on Wednesday next but, as of now, it appears that a major volcanic eruption is not around the corner in Kashmir.

END