Varmul, Mar 24: Fourteen years after the killing of an SPO Muhammad Ashraf lone in alleged fake encounter by SOG and Rashtriya Rifles at Sopur, the police have decided to provide relief to the deceased’s family every month.
 “The family will receive Rs 5000 and free ration for two years till one of the son’s of the slain SPO becomes illegible for the government job,” SSP Varmul, Shakeel Ahmad Beigh told Greater Kashmir.
 “We were informed about the family’s plight and decided to help them,” he said adding the initiative was purely on the humanitarian basis and had nothing to do with the probe into the incident.
 Muhammad Ashraf Lone of Sheeri Varmul was working as SPO and deployed with the then PDP Zonal president, Ghulam Hassan Mir and was killed in alleged fake encounter in 1996. The incident took turn after Sheeri Police in a letter 15-A PSS/07 Dated 16-04-2007 said the slain SPO “was not linked with any militant outfit” the statement endorsed by the Army.
 “He was a civilian working with police department as SPO. He was deployed with Zonal President PDP, Ghulam Hassan Rather as SPO. He was not associated with any banned outfit,” the police report said, in reply to letter number R/HQB/O7/946 from office of then Assistant Superintendent Police Varmul.
 After SPO’s death, the family of six including four children and aged father suffered immensely and failed to make their two ends meet.
 “The initiative of police would at least feed the family. However the people involved in the killing should be brought to justice,” the relatives of the SPO told Greater Kashmir.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST