The police and administration on Tuesday presented “contradictory versions” before the state human rights commission (SHRC) about a Shopian resident who was slain in November last year, with the former terming him as “militant”, while the latter claiming the deceased was a “civilian”.
The commission had directed the deputy commissioner and the SSP Shopian to file their response to a complaint filed by rights activist Ahsan Untoo seeking inquiry into the incident in which one of the two persons killed during an encounter in Khudpora Gagran village of Shopian in November last year “was a civilian”.
The report of senior superintendent of police, Shopian states: “At about 1905 hrs police station Shopian received a reliable information about the presence of HM outfit (militants) in the hideout located in the residential house of Shahid Ahmad Mir S/O Manzoor Ahmad R/O Khudpora Shopian. Army 23 para and police Shopian cordoned off the village Khudpora and during search operation of the said house, the (militants) hiding in the house came out and fired indiscriminately upon the search party with their illegal automatic weapons, as a result of which an army jawan of 23 para sustained critical injury. The search party also retaliated in self defence, during which (militant) identified as Irfan Ahmad Bhat S/O Ali Mohammad R/O Bandzoo Pulwama and his associate namely Shahid Ahmad Mir S/O Manzoor Ahmad R/O Khudpora sustained injuries and later on succumbed to their injuries. The investigation of the case is going on”.
However, the report of Tehsildar, Shopian submitted before the commission states: “… an encounter took place at village Khudpora, Shopian . . . in which one militant namely Irfan Ahmad R/O Bandzoo Pulwama and a civilian namely Shahid Ahmad Mir S/O Mohammad Mansoor Mir R/O Gagran got killed. The deceased civilian was a laborer by profession”.