A 55-year old man was shot dead by government forces outside Air Force station in Budgam district late on Sunday night.
The slain was identified as Syed Habibullah, a resident of AstanporaSoibugh in Budgam district.
The police said the slain “appeared to be mentally unfit as he was not wearing shoes or slippers and was without proper winter clothes.” The family, however, refuted police claims stating that Habibullah was suffering from only mild memory loss, demanding that the killing be thoroughly probed in a transparent manner.
Locals said Habibullah is survived by five sons and a daughter. “All of them are unmarried. He was living in extreme poverty,” they said.
According to a police spokesman, at Air Force Station Budgam, “around midnight, an individual entered the security zone area. He crossed the security fence and came close to the station perimeter wall. Despite repeated warnings from the sentry, the individual did not stop. The sentry fired some warning shots in air but the individual did not stop. The sentry then fired towards him,” the police spokesman said.
He said that later the station authorities informed police post Humhama. “The Station House Officer rushed to the scene of occurrence,” he said.
He said the spot examination revealed that an individual about 50-55 years of age “who appears to be mentally challenged” has died in the incident. “The person being identified was not wearing footwear, and was without proper winter clothing and had no identity card,” he said. “There is no habitation near the place of the incident.” The spokesman said a case has been registered and investigations taken up.
Family refutes police claim:
“My father left home for Magrib (evening) prayers on Sunday. The place where he was killed is 10 kilometres away from our home. We wonder how he reached there,” said Syed Abu Bakr, son of slain Habibullah. He said his father was not mentally challenged. “He was not on any medication. For past few years he had complaints of mild memory loss. It was not a complete memory loss.”
Abu Bakr said his father was a faith-healer. “He was wearing pheran and slippers.” He said that there should be a proper and transparent probe into the killing.
Thousands of people participated in the last rites of Habbibullah at Astanpora, Soibugh. A witness said that pro-freedom slogans were raised during the funeral. Soon after his last rites, youth hurled stones at the army camp located in adjacent Daharmuna village. Earlier, shopkeepers lowered their shutters and traffic went off the roads in Soibugh after the news of his killing spread in the area.
Kashmir range inspector general of police (IGP) Swayam Prakash Pani said the police have not concluded anything yet. “The incident happened in the dead of the night and the person was barefoot and without proper winter clothes. We respect the family claims and will take that into account as investigations have started,” the IGP said.