Kishtwar, Nov 20: Protests rocked Keshwan area of this mountainous district on Saturday morning over the killing of a local youth who police claimed was a Lashkar-e-Toiba operative. Locals alleged that the youth was killed in a fake encounter.
Two protestors were injured when police opened fire to quell a mob which allegedly tried to storm the local police post following the killing.
Reports reaching here revealed that locals noticed the body of Muhammad Shafi Gujjar, a local farmer, near the Idgah in Keshwan area early this morning. As the news about the killing of Gujjar spread in the area, hundreds of people including women assembled outside his house and staged a protest demonstration.
Police said that the youth was a LeT operative and worked as a guide for a group of militants which was being chased by a joint column of police and army.
“On specific information about the arrival of three to four militants led by district commander of LeT Salman in village Gujjar Mohalla in Keshwan belt of Kishtwar district, Special Task force (STF) assisted by army launched a cordon operation in the area late last night,” Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, Haseeb Moghal, said.
The group of militants, including Salman, threw grenades and fired on the security personnel when they asked them to surrender at around 1 am, he said.
“The operation party fired back triggering a fierce exchange and resulting in the death of LeT operative Shafi Gujjar, who was a guide, courier and over-ground worker of LeT and uncle of district commander Salman,” Moghal said.
The militants including Salman escaped during the encounter, he said, adding that the body of Gujjar was recovered this morning and later identified by the locals.
The police claim was, however, refuted by the family of the deceased. They said that the youth had gone to the house of his relative when he was killed by the Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel.
Demanding action against the erring police personnel, the local residents staged a massive protest demonstration and also tried to storm the local police post, sources said.
They added that the police opened fire on the protestors leaving two of them, Muneer Hussain (13) son of Muhammad Hussain Gujjar and Abdul Gani (16) son of Taj Din, residents of Nagni, Keshwan, critically injured.
The family refused to bury the body of the deceased and demanded lodging of murder case against the cops. Local MLA and SP Kishtwar rushed to the spot to pacify the protestors. Negotiation with the locals was going on when last reports came in.
National Conference Member Legislative Assembly Kishtwar, Sajad Ahmed Kichloo, has expressed shock over the incident. Beside compensation for the family, he demanded a magisterial probe in the matter so that truth can be brought before the public.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:00:00 IST