Sopur, Feb 21: A complete shutdown marked the first anniversary of killing of two youth by troopers in Bomai in north Kashmir’s Sopur area on Sunday. Residents   sought Chief Minister Omar Abdullah intervention to get indicted troopers punished.
 Amid complete shutdown, the residents of several villages staged peaceful march.  Protesters were carrying banners, demanding punishment to troopers involved in killings of Muhammad Amin Tantray and Javid Ahmed Dar. The duo was killed by troopers of 22  Rashtriya Rifles last year.
 Banners and placards carried by people read: “CM fulfill your commitment, punish the killers.”
 On Feb 21 in 2009, troopers of Rajinder post in Bomai fired indiscriminately on two civilians. The killings sparked off Valley-wide protests following which  Bomai people formed a Coordination Committee to seek justice.
 Talking to Greater Kashmir, the president of CC, Hakeem-ul-Rehman , said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had promised that camp would be shifted and the guilty would be punished. “He had fulfilled his commitment of shifting camp, but if he is helpless in punishing troopers, he should make it public we will decide our future course of action,” he added.
 Both the inquiries ordered by state and army indicted troopers for killings and lapses respectively.
 Following the massive protests police had registered a murder case against army and the Chief Minister had ordered a magisterial probe. The Deputy Commissioner Varmul, Baseer Ahmed Khan was appointed as the inquiry officer.
 The inquiry panel indicted the army for “killing two civilians”, saying that the troopers “opened fire and killed two civilians without any provocation” and “the action was not only disproportionate but breached all operational procedures.”
 The report also rejected army’s claim of cross firing. The inquiry officer, in his report, had said that troopers army opened fired at the civilians and the bullet wounds were found above the chest level which indicated that they opened fire with intention to kill.
 The inquiry ordered by army held Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and two troopers of 22 RR guilty for lapses. “Failure to exercise desired command and control by the JCO also encompasses failure by two troopers to exercise restraint in the handling their weapons during the incident,” army’s inquiry stated.
  The army had said, that disciplinary action against three troopers would be ordered by General Officer Commanding (GOC) Kilo Force forthwith and added that the additional charges brought out by police would be investigated and dealt as per law. 
 When contacted officiating defence PRO, Colonel Rose said, “I have no information about the action taken against indicted soldiers.”
 A senior police official said that challan had been prepared and sent for government sanction.
 Not only justice the local’s also demanded  removal of Rajinder post also with area observing shutdown and students boycotting classes to press for removal of camp. Following the one month agitation, the government shifted camp to SKUAST Wadura.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 IST