Massive protests triggered in south Kashmir’s Tral sub-division on Tuesday after two local youngsters were killed in a militant-infested forest area, where security forces had a brief clash with ultras on Monday afternoon.
The Army said that one of the slain youngsters, Mohammad Khalid Wani, was an over-ground worker of the militants while the other, Younis Ganai, had recently joined their ranks after an abortive attempt on life of a surrendered militant. Wani’s brother, Burhan, is a top-ranking militant of Hizbul Mujahideen and Younis went to meet him.
locals alleged that Wani had been captured by the security forces along with three other local boys and subsequently tortured to death. Police said that two AK series rifles have been recovered from the site of encounter including the one that had been snatched by militants from a policeman in August last year.
Several separatist leaders, including Masarat Alam, Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah, were arrested while attempting to go to the restive town. The authorities imposed curfew-like restrictions in the area when stone-pelters clashed with security forces. Around a dozen protesters were wounded in police action even as some unidentified persons snatched a service rifle from one Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
Sources said Wani and his three associates had gone to Kamla forests, a dense jungle that has harboured militants in large numbers since the inception of armed insurgency in Kashmir. “The four youths left from Dadsara village on two motorbikes and carried some cooked food for the militants. Apparently their movement was being tracked by the security forces while they trekked the forest area,” a local said.
There were sounds of gunshots but it later turned out that Burhan’s brother had been gunned down. The Army immediately claimed that a terrorist was shot dead in an encounter. However, they modified the statement on Tuesday declaring Wani as a “listed over-ground worker”.
Khalid’s father, who heads a Government-owned senior secondary school, alleged that his son has been killed in custody to avenge the activities of his other son Burhan.
“There were no bullet wounds on his body but clear torture marks. His limbs were broken and an eye gouged out,” he alleged. The body was handed over to the family late in the night.
Amid allegations of custodial killing, the encounter took another twist on Tuesday when body of Younis Ganai, another local youngster was found in the forest area. Ganai, police said, was involved in an abortive attempt on life of a former militant Rafiq Dada in Tral town on April 6. After the attempt he had formally joined the militant ranks.
Sources said that Wani and his associates had finished meeting with Burhan when a patrolling party intercepted them. The three youngsters have been captured and are being questioned.
“There were instances of stone pelting in Tral and surrounding areas today (Tuesday) but the police and paramilitary forces exercised restraint even after a rifle of CRPF personal deployed on duty was snatched. Some people have received minor injuries during the stone pelting,” Gilani said.
The Army claimed that Wani had taken the three youngsters to the forest area to introduce them into the militant group. “It has been confirmed that Khalid Wani, who has been operating as over ground worker, had taken the three youths to meet Burhan for their recruitment into terrorist tanzeem. The incident has thus prevented the three youth from being misguided by late Khalid Wani into joining the militant ranks,” Army spokesman lt Col NN Joshi said.
He said that a large cache of arms and war-like stores have been recovered from the encounter site. The separatists have called for a shutdown in the area on Wednesday followed by a march towards the restive quarter on Friday.