NC demands probe in Shopian firing incident

Srinagar, March 5

Opposition National Conference (NC) today demanded a probe into the firing incident in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir and said the killings cannot be justified by labelling the deceased as overground workers of militant groups (OGWs).

Six persons, including two militants, have been killed in the last night's shootout in Shopian's Pahnoo area. While the Army claimed that the slain youths were militants and their associates, the police on the other hand didn't make any such claims and said they are still investigating the incident.

"We are deeply shocked and grieved at the continued and unabated bloodshed in Kashmir. The Shopian killings cannot be justified with an arbitrary, unproven pronouncement of the youth being OGWs," a spokesperson of the National Conference said.

He said the circumstances leading to killings in last night's shootout in Shopian should be probed and the report be made public.

"The circumstances and details should be probed and made public by the state government," he added.

Last night, a joint MVCP (mobile vehicle check post) near Pahnoo in Shopian had signalled a car to stop, but it did not. The armymen were fired upon and they retaliated, in which six people, including two militants, were killed.

PTI