Valley shuts down in protest, J&K police probe civilian killings

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir police has initiated an investigation into the killing of seven civilians in an explosion at a militant hideout in Kulgam, Kashmir, on Sunday. The probe was launched after police and the villagers contested each other’s version.

The Valley was shutdown on Monday in protest of the killings. The shutdown was observed on the call of the joint separatist leadership of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF leader Yasin Malik. According to the state police, some youths rushed to the hideout after an encounter between security forces and militants hiding in the house, was over and the forces had withdrawn. Police believes the explosion took place when the youth were looking for weapons inside the house.

The youths “possibly” fiddled with live ammunition, causing an explosion, SSP Kulgam Harmeet Singh said. Seven civilians were killed and more than 40 others injured due to the blast at a residential house in Laroo, Kulgam, where three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants had been hiding.

However, villagers allege that security forces planted a landmine in the house after killing the militants to blow up the house. “The explosion occurred beneath the veranda of the house where the encounter took place,” Ghulam Hassan Dar, a local, said.

Abdul Gani Dar, another resident, alleged that police and the military together planted the explosive to target the youth of the area. “They should have stopped the angry youngsters from going towards the encounter site,” he said.

Refuting the allegations, SSP Harmeet Singh said: “It is a matter of investigation but the blast took place at the rear side of the house (hideout) and not beneath the veranda. Besides, there was an unexploded shell which seems to suggest people fiddled with live ammunition.”

He said hand grenades were also used by both forces and militants. The youth who were pelting stones rushed towards the site without giving police time to sanitise the area, he said.