‘Constable being made scapegoat, police officer killed’ Kashmir teen
Refuting the government’s claim that a police constable had shot at his teenage son in Kashmir’s Narbal, the father of Suhail Ahmad Sofi Monday said that his son was not killed by the constable but by his officer.
“My son after offering Fajar prayers slept for some time. After putting on his school uniform he left home and outside Assistant Sub Inspector, Manzoor Ahmed caught him an slapped him without any provocation,” Suhail’s father Abdul Ahad Sofi said.
The locals in the area resented action of the police officer and after succumbing pressure he freed Suhail, he said, and added: but in a fit of rage Manzoor took his rifle and shot my son in the back. “My son received bullet in the back and it was Manzoor alias Manzoor Kaala who shot my son.”
He said that Manzoor is a well known figure in the vicinity and this, “corrupt and killer police officer thinks that he is the ruler of the area. Why are you blaming the constable only for the act when it is a known fact that it was Manzoor who killed my son,” Sofi said.
Police had said that during its preliminary investigation it had found that the constable had shot at Suhail on the direction of the police officer Manzoor Ahmed.
Sofi said that his son was efficient and intelligent. “You can check this from Government Higher Secondary School in Narbal. Suahil was only hope for me. I have four daughters and I am shattered,” he said, adding that “policemen who think they rule the roost should be hanged and put to death in full public glare”.
He said that it was shocking to him when he was told that paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force killed his son. “It was not CRPF but our own local police who killed my son. These ‘drunkard’ policemen should be hanged without any mercy. If the government will release and reinstate the ‘killer’ Manzoor Kaala we will come on roads and will appeal to every Kashmiri to expose the shoddy dealings of the present government,” he said.
To a question, he said that Suhail was the third victim in their family. “In 2008, we lost Rafiq Ahmed in Army firing and in 2010 we lost Muhammad Omar in police firing.”
Sofi said people were shocked when these local policemen fired teargas shells on the mourners on Saturday- the day Suhail was killed.
