Jammu, Jan 29: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Monday said the police FIR against an Army unit involved in the firing on protesters in Shopian that left two civilians dead will be taken to a “logical conclusion” even as the BJP demanded that the murder case be withdrawn.
Mufti made the assertion while defending the police action amid an uproar in the state Assembly over the firing incident and a demand by BJP MLA R S Pathania for immediate withdrawal of the FIR. Pathania, however, said his party supports the magisterial probe to allow law to take its own course.
The FIR was registered against the personnel of 10, Garhwal unit, of the Army under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code. A Major, who led the Army personnel at the time of the incident on Saturday, was also mentioned in the FIR, officials said Sunday.
Two civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at a stone-pelting mob in Ganovpora village in Shopian, prompting the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident. J&K police chief S P Vaid said registration of FIR in the Shopian incident is just the beginning of the investigation and the Army’s version would be taken into account as well.
Mufti said she did not believe the police action would have a demoralising effect on the army. Terming the incident a “setback” to the political process, Mufti said she had spoken about it to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who asked her to take the required action in case there was “carelessness”.
The state Assembly witnessed repeated interruptions by the opposition, which moved an adjournment motion over the Shopian incident. “I do not accept that the Army gets demoralised by such actions. The Army is an institution and has done a wonderful job. But a black sheep can be anywhere… Among judges there can be black sheep, but we can’t paint every one with the same brush,” Mufti said.
She said if somebody commits a mistake, the person should be punished as such a course only brings laurels to the institution. “If some Army officer has committed a mistake, an FIR has been lodged and it is the duty of the government to take it to a logical conclusion,” Mufti said. It is a “big issue”, said Mufti, who leads a PDP-BJP coalition in the state.
PTI
