Islamabad (Anantnag)/Srinagar, Mar 22: The three member visiting team of the Amnesty International on Tuesday visited the homes of the three teenagers killed in cold-blood by the police at Anchidoora here during the last year’s unrest.
The team comprising South Asia Director Amnesty International, Madhu Malhotra and members Bikramjeet Batra and Ramesh Gopalakrishnan visited the house of Shujaat-ul-Islam (17), Ishtiaq Khanday (15), Imtiaz Yatoo (15), who were shot in the compound of a house here on June 29 last year, to ascertain the circumstances that led to the killing of the trio.
On the occasion, the family members informed the Amnesty team that on the fateful day, the protests against the killing spree in the Valley were going on at Laisbal KP Road, some 1.5 kms from the spot.
“An armoured vehicle of the police chased the youth inside the SK Colony. Some of the cops alighted from the vehicle and chased the people upto Anchidora. However, the people including our kins took shelter inside the house of Ishtiaq Ahmad Khanday. The cops barged into the premises and opened indiscriminate fire on kins, killing them on the spot,” the parents of the victims told the team.
“He was my only son and the cops killed him without any provocation,” emotionally charged Ahmadullah Khanday, father of one of the victims Ishtiaq told the team.
“My husband Muhammad Ashraf was killed by the government gunmen in 1996 just for running a Madrassa. The cops snatched my son who was my hope for old age,” the mother of another victim Shujaat-ul-Islam said.
The family of third victim, Imtiaz Ahmad Yatoo said he was working on daily wage basis at a baker’s shop at SK Colony. “He was killed at the shop without any provocation,” his mother said.
“Though the government admitted in the Legislative Assembly that the killings were unprovoked, the Special Investigation Team formed to probe the matter, is shielding the accused. The Magisterial inquiry indicted the accused cops and officers. Ironically, only one constable has been suspended in the case while other accused cops and officers are roaming freely. Despite the direction from the Court and the Commission of Inquiry, the identification parade of the accused senior police officers has been not carried yet,” the families said.
The team also visited the house of teenager Faizan Rafiq of Reshi Bazar here who was recently booked under the PSA. “My 16 year old son has been booked under the PSA and shown as a major. I earn my livelihood by selling vegetable and can’t even afford to fight the case of my son.  Please help me to get justice by ensuring release of my son,” he said.
The team also met the family of 12 year old Irshad Ahmad Parray of Old Eidgah here who was killed by a pellet fired by police last year during protests. Later the team went to the house of a youth Irshad Ahmad Latoo who was killed in police action while he was purchasing essentials during deal in curfew last year. The team also met the youth who have been detained since last year in the district.
According to sources, the team met the leaders of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti on Tuesday evening. The leaders demanded probe into the killing of Kashmiris Pandits in the Valley.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 IST