A Bloody Sunday On Commemoration Day

Seven civilians die at encounter site

SRINAGAR: Seven civilians, including a ten-year-old boy, were killed and many injured on Sunday when unused explosives of three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, gunned down in an encounter, went off in Laroo village of Kulgam district of South Kashmir.

After the encounter ended early morning, the security forces were carrying out routine clearance, when they came under heavy stone pelting from a mob, which had cordoned off the encounter site.

During the partial withdrawal of the security forces, the mob thronged the encounter site to gather remaining arms and ammunition, which is passed on later to militant groups, police alleged.

During this, unexploded shells and grenades of militants went off killing one and injuring several others.
They were rushed to a hospital where five succumbed to their injuries.

There is another unidentified body, completely charred and beyond recognition, at the hospital, police said, adding that no one had claimed the body so far.

The incident came days before the scheduled visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to Kashmir on Tuesday.

Jammu and Kashmir police tweeted early in the day that "civilians visited encounter site immediately after operation in spite of request not to visit as thorough search was on for explosives. They didn't listen and thus visited the spot. Some explosive substance went off resulting in injuries to civilians."

Reports from the village said locals were busy dousing the flames at the house that was damaged during the encounter when a deafening explosion occurred.

A statement from police released late evening read: “After the conclusion of encounter as the forces moved out, the locals from the area started assembling at the site of encounter and had apparently fiddled with some stray explosive materials leading to an explosion. Consequently some individuals sustained grievous injuries and some of the injured unfortunately succumbed when brought to hospitals, besides five other injured are undergoing treatment. It is pertinent to mention that this incident occurred post encounter.”

“Citizens are requested not to visit any encounter site until the site is sanitized by the bomb disposal team. We seek cooperation of people in this regard for avoiding accidents of such nature,” the police requested, adding that a case in this regard has been registered and investigation has been initiated.

The slain civilians were identified as Talib Maqbool, a resident of Laroo, Tajamul Ahmad of Danew Bohgund village, Irshad Ahmad, a resident of Shurat village, Uzair Ahmad Dar, a resident of Rishipora, Mansoor Ahmad, a resident of Bohgund, and Aaqib Sheikh of Makanpora. One of the slain civilians is a minor and has five sisters.

There is one more person declared dead whose identity is not known to anybody, so far. A senior police officer said they have reports that the unidentified person is Javaid Ahmed lone, a resident of Hawoora, a driver by profession.

Many others were seriously injured in the blast and the officials have not denied the possibility of the death toll mounting further.

There is an all pervasive sense of mourning in Laroo village and other places of the district as locals were rushing to the village to enquire about the well-being of their relatives and friends.

Authorities suspended cellphone and internet services and ordered a curfew in Kulgam in a bid to thwart more protests.

Meanwhile, clashes broke out between groups of youth and security forces in the area and were going on when last reports came in.

"Police had to use some force to quell the protests and about two dozen persons were injured in the clashes, an official said.

Separatists in the Kashmir valley have called for a strike on Monday over the incident. The strike has been called by separatists Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL).

"To strongly condemn & (and) protest the mayhem unleashed in Kulgam by the ruthless Indian state in which so far 5 (five) civilians & 3 (three) armed youth killed besides injuries to tens of scores of injured, JRL calls for complete #Shutdown tomorrow, JRL will hold a #ProtestSitin (protest sit-in) on Tuesday at LaL Chowk," Farooq posted on Twitter before the toll was updated.

Meanwhile, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and a Kashmiri Pandit organisation have extended their support to the strike called by the separatists.

"In an emergency meeting held Sunday, the executive committee of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed its shock and concern at the sharp increase in the use of brutal force against the unarmed civilians of Kashmir," a statement by the KCCI said.

Condemning the incident, the KCCI said the business community of Kashmir once again urges the government to "restrain from launching operations in civilian areas which invariably trigger more killings and worsening of the law and order situation".

The Kashmiri Pandit Sangarash Samiti (KPSS) also extended its support to the strike called by the separatists, saying it is mandatory for security forces to sanitise the area where encounter takes place to safeguard the lives of the civilians.

"We feel the pain of killing of civilians and injuries during cordon and search operation in Kulgam," KPSS president Sanjay Tickoo said in a statement here.