New Delhi:
Just a couple of weeks ago a young man, 21-year-old Manzoor Ahmed Magray, was shot dead by the Army in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir. It was an incident that was strongly condemned, and for which the Army lodged its regrets.
Now, in an interview to NDTV's Barkha Dutt, the Army Chief General VK Singh explained that while an inquiry has been ordered, the boy was fired at, because he didn't stop when he was told to.
"We've ordered an inquiry but what the preliminary feedback to me was that this particular unit had information, they moved in, laid an ambush at night...As per the initial information that came to us, they (Army unit) shouted, the boy ran, whether it was panic or what we don't know and he was fired at. Procedures also say that you will fire at lower part of body, you don't want to kill anybody," said General VK Singh. (
Watch the interview)
But while the Army chief told NDTV Manzoor was shot in the foot, and probably died of shock, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that according to the medical report, the boy received injuries in the foot and back.
NDTV has accessed the medical report. Although a detailed postmortem was not conducted because of reluctance of relatives, sources say the external examination showed obvious splinter injury in the back which was oozing blood and a gunshot wound in the right foot. Sources say the report called it an obvious case of massive injury to the vital organ of abdomen that caused his death.
"We have already ordered an inquiry into the matter. We have given the additional deputy commissioner one month's time to complete the inquiry, and for that he has to see the medical reports, which will mention the cause of death," said MS Rather, District Collector.
But Mansoor's family is not buying the Army chief's argument. They say the victim was hurt on his back and his knee. They maintain that the boy was killed by the Army.
"He was hurt on the back of his head and on his knee. I feel that it was a torture because till now, no one has died from a gunshot on the leg," said a relative of Mansoor.
"When I held his left hand, it was broken. When I looked at his leg, that was also completely broken," said another relative.