The authorities on Tuesday lifted curfew from the volatile areas of Kupwara district, even as the Army removed a concrete bunker in a bid to pacify people protesting in the area for the past one week.
The bunker that was bulldozed on Tuesday was at the center of a controversy as residents alleged that a schoolgirl who had entered the lavatory in the bunker was molested by a soldier. The alleged molestation on April 12 triggered massive protests, resulting in the killing of five people as the police and security forces tried to control violent mobs. The girl, however, in her statements to police and a local court maintained that no soldier was in the lavatory and she was not abused.
The bunker was erected inside a roundabout in 2004 and the locals were demanding its removal for several years.
Meanwhile, the police on Tuesday arrested Hilal Ahmad Banday, a local college student who had allegedly slapped the girl when she came out of the lavatory. The girl in her statement said that she had told Hilal that she was not molested, but he was in league with other boys who accused her of going into the Army bunker. She said the boys tried to snatch her bag and forced her to walk to the police station.
Ignoring the girl’s pleas the protesters attacked the bunker and in the retaliatory firing two youths and a woman working in the nearby fields were killed. Two other youths were killed in subsequent protests at Wagoora and Kupwara. The police have registered four separate cases and the district administration has ordered an enquiry into the firing.
After the Tuesday killings, the authorities had promised the people to take up the matter with the Army authorities to dismantle the bunker. local legislator and Minister in Mehbooba Mufti’s Cabinet Sajjad lone addressed a gathering of people after the bunker was razed to the ground.
The bunker was bulldozed at a time when Army Chief General Dilbagh Singh was in Kupwara district where he was briefed by the top Army officers on the situation in the wake of Handwara killings.
A Defence spokesman said the Army chief was accompanied by the Northern Army Commander lt-Gen DS Hooda and 15 Corps Commander lt-Gen Satish Dua. The two officers briefed Gen Singh on the overall security situation and the preparedness of 15 Corps in dealing with the emerging challenges.
“Gen Singh was also briefed on the situation along the line of Control and hinterland. “In his interaction with the officers and troops, the Army Chief expressed his satisfaction at the operational preparedness of the units deployed along the loC and hinterland. He further impressed upon all to ensure security in the area in concert with police and civil administration,” the spokesman said.