Deadline over, not Handwara probe

Inquiry officer granted 10-day extension into April 12 incident

Over a month after the Handwara incident, involving the alleged molestation of a minor by an Army man and subsequent killing of five civilians, the time-bound inquiry ordered by the government is yet to be completed.
As per a statement issued by the PDP-BJP government issued on April 18, Kupwara Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Ranjan had appointed Handwara Additional District Magistrate Peer Muzaffar Ahmad as inquiry officer to probe the firing, which took place on April 12.
The inquiry officer was scheduled to record the statements of witnessexs and submit his report to the state government within a month.
Sources revealed that the inquiry was yet to be concluded by the magistrate despite expiry of deadline. When contacted, the Deputy Commissioner said, “I am not authorised to talk on behalf of the government.”
Sources said the inquiry officer had sought extension of deadline by 10 days, which had been granted. The sources said he had recorded the statements of around 30 witnesses so far. The sources stated that the inquiry officer had not recorded the statement of the alleged victim or any member of her family despite a passage of over 40 days.
Three persons, including a woman, were killed on April 12 in firing by security forces during violent protests against the alleged molestation in Handwara.
The protests then spread to nearby areas, resulting in the death of two more persons, one each on April 13 and 15.
The sources said the inquiry officer had recorded the statements of family members and relatives of two slain youths, Nayeem and Iqbal.
They revealed that the family members had initially wanted to submit statements in writing to the inquiry officer, which was not allowed.
Later, they recorded their statements before the inquiry officer. Now, they were demanding copies of the statements, which had not been provided to them so far.