Angry family members gather outside ex-J&K CM Abdullah’s house, cry foul, seek probe
An alleged intruder was shot dead inside the highly ‘fortified’ residence of National Conference president and sitting Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah on Saturday after he rammed his SUV into the VIP gate of the former Chief Minister’s residence in Bhatindi area of Jammu on Saturday.
Both Dr Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah were not present when the chaos prevailed inside their personal residence. The alleged intruder, identified as 26-year-old Syeed Murfad Shah and hailing from Mendhar area of Poonch, after ramming the car against the VIP gate, stopped at the garden and entered the house ransacking everything that came his way, a senior police officer told reporters waiting outside the residence of Dr Abdullah.
A CRPF jawan posted inside the house also received injuries as he attempted to overpower him. The intruder was shot dead near the stairs that led to the bedrooms of the house, police officer said.
“There was an attempt of forceful entry into the house of Dr Abdullah. He (intruder) forced his way through the VIP gate in an SUV. He was unarmed and investigation is underway,” said SD Singh Jamwal IG, Jammu Zone.
However, question marks were raised by the close relatives of the deceased youth over the police version. Angry family members gathered outside the residence of Dr Abdullah, staged a sit-in protest and demanded a high-level enquiry to ascertain the truth in the matter.
“We want to see the CCTV footage of the incident,” family members demanded. Alleging foul play, the family members claimed that the unarmed youth was first killed by the security forces and then taken inside the former CM’s residence to create an alibi.
The CRPF issued a written statement saying the incident took place around 10.13 am on Saturday. “A suspect driving XUV 500 vehicle broke the barrier and tried to forcibly intrude inside the residence of Dr Farooq Abdullah. He was warned but he did not listen to the warning of CRPF. Section of 38 BN CRPF manning the gate opened fire on the vehicle.
Man’s body recovered and search of vehicle going on. 1 CRPF personnel received minor injuries,” the CRPF statement.
Interestingly, the news of security breach inside his home was also shared by Omar Abdullah himself. “I am aware of the incident that took place at the residence my father & I share in Bhatindi, Jammu. Details are sketchy at the moment. Initial reports suggest an intruder was able to gain entry through the front door & in to the upper lobby of the house,” Omar tweeted.
The entire security grid remained on tenterhooks and carried out anti- sabotage drill inside the residence of Dr Abdullah before allowing local party leaders to take stock of the situation.
Dog squads and bomb detection units were pressed into service to carry out the mandatory drill. The forces said he left the jawan injured and forced his entry into the house, where he ransacked several articles before being gunned down.
Police said they haven’t recovered any weapon from the site and the motive behind his alleged forced entry into the home is not clear as of now.
The victim’s family, which originally belongs to Mendhar tehsil of the border district of Poonch, currently lives in Chinore, where residents and relatives of the deceased youth held a demonstration this afternoon by burning tyres in the middle of the road and disrupting traffic.
“He was with me last night. He goes to the gym daily and left for there today. I want to know why was he killed,” Shah’s father asked security personnel manning the front gate of Dr Abdullahs’s residence. “Where were the security guards when he breached the gateij Why didn’t they arrest himij”He was not carrying any weapons. Neither any explosive was recovered from him than why he was fired upon and not arrested by the security personnel, he lamented.