No end to Sopore Killings
• Ex-militant shot dead, toll reaches 4
• ‘Assailants also killed a dog that chased them’
• IGP advises ‘soft targets’ to be careful, says police increased area domination
• Police have got some vital clues, breakthrough likely soon: DIG
In yet another mysterious killing in North Kashmir, another civilian, who was a former militant, was shot dead by unidentified masked gunmen in Sopore area of Baramulla district on Monday.
It was the fourth killing in the township in a week.
Police sources said unidentified masked gunmen fired three bullets from close range towards Aijaz Ahmad Reshi in Mundji area of Sopore town this morning.They said he sustained critical bullet injuries and died on spot.
Police said the assailants also fired on the dog, who tried to chase them. “The dog was killed in the firing incident”.
According to police, Reshi, a father of five girls, was a former militant and had served five years in prison.
“He had shunned militancy since a long time and was living a normal and peaceful life now,” police officials said.
After the killing tension gripped Sopore and parts of Baramulla. Clashes between youth and cops were also reported from some parts of Sopore and Baramulla.
Reshi’s killing took place 24 hours after another former JKLF militant Mehraj-ud-din Dar was shot dead by Sopore on Sunday.
It was also the 4th killing in the township in a week.
DIG North Kashmir Garib Das told that Hizbul Mujahideen was behind the attacks.
“Police have ascertained that HM factions have some rivalry. HM’s local faction is carrying out the attacks to teach the rival group a lesson,” he alleged adding local
HM cadres are aware of each and every street of Sopore, which makes it easy for them to carry the attacks.
Asked why the attackers were targeting civilians, Das said it is because the targets had some background either for “anti militancy” or they had some links with Huriyat.
“Basically the problem is that there is a lot of confusion because of the new group Lashkar-e-Islam. The group partly got separated from HM because of rivalry and is carrying the attacks. So that is very much clear before us,” the police officer said.
Asked whether police was also investigated the angle of involvement of Indian intelligence agencies as is being claimed by separatists, DIG said, “Police has already formed Special Investigation Team (SIC), which is investigating the matter professionally.”
“However, we did not include this view point because there are reasons behind it. Besides, it would not be good to say whether Indian agencies or Pakistani agencies are behind the killings. But I can definitely say that HM faction is behind the attacks because we are very clear about it and it will soon be made public,” he said.
Das said police has got some vital clues and hopefully it would help them to crack the case.
Meanwhile, IGP Kashmir range SJM Gilani, GoC 15 Corps Lt Gen Subrata Saha and other top officials visited Sopore and devised a strategy, which according to sources, include providing security to soft targets.
“It is part of strategy to provide security to the soft targets,” sources privy to the meeting said.
Gilani told that police has warned soft targets to “be careful”.
“We are dominating the town and looking for the assailants, whom we have identified,” he said.
IGP said police is not providing individual security to anybody. “But we are keeping eye on them”.
The separatist groups have blamed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s remark about “neutralising terrorists using terrorists” for the sudden spurt in the killings in Sopore.
