Magisterial inquiry ordered into killing of man at Farooq Abdullah's Jammu residence

JAMMU: A magisterial inquiry was ordered into the killing of a man by the security guards posted at the residence of former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah here today, a senior government official said.

District development commissioner (Jammu) Ramesh Kumar ordered the probe following massive protests by relatives of the slain man, Syeed Murfad Shah, who would have turned 26 next month.

"Sub-divisional magistrate, Jammu North, will conduct the probe and submit his report within four weeks," Kumar told PTI.

Meanwhile, the National Conference (NC) sought a high level probe into the incident by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

NC provincial spokesperson Madan Mantoo issued a statement here, saying, "As Abdullah is a central government categorised protectee, the government of India should carry out its independent and impartial inquiry by a team deputed by the Ministry of Home Affairs."

Expressing grave concern over the incident, the spokesperson said the probe must cover all aspects, including how a car was able to gain entry into the supposedly highly secured residence with minimum cosmetic damage, considering the strength of the main gate.

"The security lapse is needed to be probed expeditiously so that the truth comes to the fore," the he added.

Following noisy protests by the relatives of the deceased, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP also demanded that an impartial and prompt investigation be conducted into the incident and CCTV footage released.

"BJP demands an impartial and prompt enquiry into the matter of fake encounter. To set at rest the apprehensions of the members of the family of deceased, the CCTV footage should be released to the media by police immediately," BJP state spokesperson Anil Gupta said in a statement here.

He said the "cold-blooded" murder in a VIP residence raises many questions.

"The family of the deceased is calling the incident a fake encounter and insists that their son was called by somebody to the residence of the former chief minister," he said.

Gupta said, quoting friends of the deceased, that the youth was not a drug addict, as was being alleged by some.

In a major security breach this morning, the man rammed his car into the front gate of the residence of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah here, and vandalised the house before being shot dead by the CRPF personnel guarding the premises, police said.

Both Farooq and Omar Abdullah are Z-plus protectees.