WSN Service

NEW DELHI: In a shocking incident of violation of human rights the predominantly Hindu outfit of the government of India the Central Reserve Police Force. Mowed down 46 unarmed Kashmiris and injured 57 others in Chhota Bazar area of Srinagar on June 11 according to unofficial reports. Prof Saiffuddin so a former MP from Kashmir in a letter to the Prime Minister said that the Chhota Bazar incident involved a 12-member group of the C.R.P.F in plain clothes who by their mindless firing made passersby and shopkeeper their victims.

The C.R.P.F.’s indiscriminate firing the Kashmir leader said was protected by the provisions of the Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act. As long as these black laws remained in operation the atrocities on the people of Kashmir will continue he said. He pleaded for withdrawal of the CR.P.F from Kashmir to arrest the deteriorating situation in the State

The Government of India took no action against the C.R.P.F unit for going berserk. Instead its action was defended in so many ways by Delhi and its spokesman. First the number of those killed by was Sought to be minimized by an official spokesman whose versions issued in Srinagar alone find a Place in the captive media. The Government of India-controlled PT-I and U.N.I. gave the number of deaths on June as 32 killed and many injured Secondly the reason for the deaths was given as cross fire between the security forces and the Kashmir militants after the C.R.P.F. unit was allegedly ambushed.

The report further said that several militants were killed. There was no mention of the civilians and unarmed persons who alone were killed according to later reports emanating from unofficial sources.

A Government of India spokesman here on June 12 offered no apology for the C.R.P.F. action against the civilians and instead recounted that the Kashmir militants mounted 155 attacks on security forces in May and June. Indirectly the Government defended the CR.P.F action as something natural in the Circumstances.

There were widespread protests against the killings. The people of Srinagar observed a protest strike. There was tension in the town the government imposed curfew restrictions in most parts of the city and armed forces were called out. The government offered to hold an enquiry by the additional chief secretary but the public has lost all faith in the fairness of the authorities and have decided to boycott the enquiry proceedings. Youth tells of massacre by CRPF

Mohd Saleem Jan a 13-yr-old apprentice to a mechanic at an automobile workshop in here is battling for life in SMHS Hospital.

Having barely escaped death in the shooting by the security forces here Saleem told a group of journalists: A group of security men came to our workshop around 6:30 p.m and caught hold of our workshop owner Abdul Rashid. Brushing aside his pleas I saw them killing four of the workshop men with rifles. I lay down on the floor and sensing imminent death grabbed the mangled pieces of my Ustad’s body put it on my head and pretended to be dead. I could hear the security personnel hurling abuses and kicking all the bodies

Jan received a bullet injury in his skull. After the security personnel left he got up and sought help from a residence. He bandaged his head in a sari and walked to the nearby hospital.

Jan’s statement is corroborated by numerous other injured admitted to the hospital.

Dr Maqbool Dar a house surgeon on duty in the civil hospital who was at a roadside stall at the time of the shootout said: A group of nine CRPF men came in a truck. They caught hold of me and refused to see even my identity card. I was shot at point blank range He rushed to the hospital after regaining consciousness. He was hit by a bullet in the neck.

There was no firing on the patrol party at least at the spot where I was injured he said.

An employee of the hospital who sought anonymity claimed that he was eyewitness to the coldblooded murder of Ghulam Ahmed a storekeeper of SMHS Hospital outside which the incident took place.

Among the killed all civilians are an old woman and a child. Most of the killed were passers by returning home before curfew hours.

Mr Rajan Bakshi DIG Kashmir Range said that none of the victims was a militant All the killed are innocent citizens and that causes us great concern.

Asked about the sequence of the events Mr Bakshi said the police itself was bewildered over what exactly had provoked the CRPF personnel to open fire in a dense locality.

The situation in the entire valley has once again turned volatile with the shootout. The entire downtown area of Srinagar city was placed under curfew and the Army deployed all over.

All district headquarters observed a complete bandh in protest against the Chotta Bazar killings. Angry civilians besieged the police control room late at night to get information about their missing relatives.

The scene of the shootout was splattered with blood and fire brigade tenders were washing the spot when journalists got permission from the Army to go near it in the morning

The Chotta Bazar killings have fuelled anger against the security forces which had somewhat subsided after similar shooting by the security forces on a funeral procession in Khanyar on May 7.

According to unofficial reports the security forces fired in retaliation against an ambush by militants in the Chotta Bazar area.

When asked about this Mr Bakshi said; that is a matter which calls for an inquiry.

Article extracted from this publication >> June 21, 1991