Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s announcement of a magisterial probe into the killing of three youth – namely Muhammad Shafi, Shehzad Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmed - from Nadihal, Rafiabad in a widely-believed fake encounter near Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector on April 30 has come as a timely and desirable move. The probe has come at a time when serious apprehensions have been voiced over the identity of the persons killed in the “Machil encounter” on April 30. And also over the claims made by army troopers that the men killed were “militants.” The family members of the three youth, who had gone missing from their village of Nadihal on April 27, have already vehemently contested the army’s claim that the killed persons were “militants”. Army’s claim that they had “foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Machil sector of Kupwara by killing three militants” has been widely contested. The army has even claimed to have recovered five AK-rifles, a pistol and some ammunition at the site of the incident. However, these claims have been widely questioned. People in the Rafiabad area have been demanding a thorough probe on the issue. They have also expressed their angst on the streets by holding protest demonstrations. Hundreds of people have been regularly taking to the streets and staging demonstrations since April 30 demanding judicial probe and exhumation of the bodies. Looking at the popular belief across Rafiabad that the killed were actually innocent civilians, a magisterial probe was inevitable. The allegation of the family members of the deceased youth that a former Special Police Officer (SPO), Bashir Ahmed, and his accomplice, whom they have identified as Fayaz Ahmed had abducted the three men, and that they subsequently handed them over to army, who allegedly killed them, is a grave issue which raises many disturbing questions. What also seems to have played a key role in the initiation of the probe is the categorical stand taken by the Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Rafiabad, who has chosen to stand by the agitating people to seek justice. Now that the Chief Minister has ordered a probe and that he has assured stern action if the allegations of fake encounter were proved right is reassuring. However, the reports that the army unit deployed in the Machil sector where the incident took place on April 30 has already been relocated hardly offers hope or reassurance. A course for real justice has to go much beyond “relocation” or “transfer”, two actions which do not qualify as measures of punishment that could act as deterrents for the future. As these lines are being written, reports received from Kalaroos indicate that the bodies of all the three men exhumed from their graves at Kalaroos were identified as the same missing youth of Rafiabad who are believed to have been dubbed as “militants” and killed in the Machil encounter. From here, the course is well laid out. The government must engage with the central government to ensure exemplary punishment for the army officers and their local renegade supporters so that such incidents do not recur in the future. In the past, quite often, the central government agencies have remained reserved on empowering the state government in initiating legal actions against the members of security agencies involved in such heinous actions. The course taken in the killing of the Nishat boy by Border Security Force personnel earlier this year needs to be emulated in this incident too. A strong state action would go a long way in helping to restore people’s confidence in the government’s ability and will in dealing with such sensitive issues related with people’s security.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 28 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 28 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 29 May 2010 00:00:00 IST