Valley in boil over army's killing of civilians

The killing of four civilians, whom the army claimed were over-ground workers (OGWs) of militants, in Kashmir's Shopian district on Sunday evening has put the Valley on the boil.

The authorities have imposed restrictions and the separatists have called for strike on Monday.

Army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said two militants, one at the site of the shootout and another in an orchard, and four civilians were killed around 8 pm on Sunday "when a mobile vehicle check-post near Pohan in Shopian signalled a car to stop but the driver refused to comply".

He said the armymen were fired upon and they retaliated. While the bodies of three civilians and one militant were recovered on Sunday evening, two bodies, one of a militant and other of a civilian, were recovered on Monday morning.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti contradicted the army's version, saying the civilians killed in Shopian were caught in a "crossfire"

"Deeply distressed by more deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire in Shopian. My heartfelt condolences to the deceased's families," she tweeted.

The army said an investigation will ascertain the level of cooperation of slain civilians with the militants killed.

"No doubt they were civilians but investigations will reveal their role with the militants," said a senior army official.

Malik detained

As the news about the civilian killings spread, protests erupted in various areas of Kashmir on Monday with people alleging that the army killed civilians "intentionally".

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman was detained when he staged a protest against the killing of civilians.

Malik, along with his supporters, reached Budshah bridge here and tried to march towards Lal Chowk, officials said.

They were stopped and taken into preventive custody, the officials said.

Waheed Ahmad, a resident of Shopian, said, "The army's claim that the four civilians were accomplices or had anything to do with militancy is a blatant lie. First they said the militants had come to attack their party and now they have changed their statement saying army signalled the car to stop, but the driver refused. Will militants try and attack the army along with four civilians?"

"We know that army has protection under the draconian AFSPA and even if they kill everybody here, they can't be held accountable. The statements of politicians to condemn these killings are nothing but drama," he said.

As separatists called for a strike against the killings, authorities imposed strict restrictions to prevent the escalation of tensions.

The 4G internet services were suspended across Kashmir, while all the examinations scheduled for the day were postponed.

Authorities also ordered the closure of all educational institutions in the Valley till Thursday. The schools were scheduled to reopen in the Valley on Monday after three months.

On January 27, three civilians were killed when the army had fired on protesters.

(with inputs from PTI)