The normal life in restive Shopian district and parts of Pulwama in south Kashmir resumed on Sunday after a continued shutdown for 10 days following a series of violent incidents resulting into killing of two terrorists and four civilians. The authorities also restored internet services in the area following improvement in ground situation.
The situation took an ugly turn in the region on January 27 when Army opened fire on a group of youth at Alowpora village killing three local yougsters. The Army claimed that the soldiers opened fire in self-defence when youngsters hurled stones on them and attempted to lynch a junior commissioned officer. However, the locals said that the army used excessive force with any provocation.
On the fateful day, the area was restive as a militant belonging to the same hamlet had been killed in an encounter three days ago in a neighbouring area. A young civilian from Qalampora village was also killed in the shootout when locals attempted to storm the house where militants had been cornered.
The Alowpora killings evoked sharp resentment from the people and leadership in Kashmir cutting across ideological barriers. While the separatists called for a shutdown on January 28 bringing the normal life to a grinding halt, the mainstream parties raked up the issue inside the assembly in Jammu, currently holding a prolonged budget session.
This led to the State Government to initiate routine investigation into the killings. A First Information Report was filed by police under Section 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 336 (endangering life) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) against troops of the 10 Garhwal unit led by a Major rank officer. The Police FIR recorded that the officer and his men opened indiscriminate firing when their convoy was pelted upon by a group of youth. The army later approached the police with its own version, which was also included in the police report.
The commander of XV corps lt Gen JS Sandhu, who has now been transferred to the army headquarters to serve as military secretary, defended the army action as a response to ‘grave provocation’ even as he promised to cooperate with the police investigation.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti called defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the incident and later told the assembly that the investigation into the Shopian killings would be taken to ‘logical end’. The Deputy Commissioner of Shopian has been asked to probe the incident and submit report within 20 days.
Shopian has been under stress since 2009 when two local women died in mysterious circumstances in a local stream. While a judicial commission pointed fingers on security forces, a CBI investigation conclusively established that there was no foul play and the two women died by drowning in the stream. The region remained on a warpath for about two months after the mysterious deaths. The period began revival of militancy in the area, which received flip in 2016 in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani.
On Sunday, the marketplaces opened and people came out in hordes for buying essential commodities. “We were virtually caged for all these days. Shops, businesses and tuition centers were closed and Government offices were dysfunctional.
The area has suffered immensely in the past and there is no reprieve in sight,” Nazir Ahmad, a former Government employee told The Pioneer on phone. He said the Government must take concrete steps to restore normalcy in the area.