Baramulla:
A day after a 12th standard boy Altaf was killed in firing by jawans of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in Baramulla in north Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today strongly condemned the incident, dubbing it as an "inexcusable, excessive use of force". Mr Abdullah also sought exemplary action against the guilty so that nobody else acted in a similar manner.
The student was killed and two others injured after the CISF men opened fire yesterday to disperse a mob protesting against power outages in the Bonyar area.
The incident has sparked major outrage with locals demanding justice for the 16-year-old boy's death. The Chief Minister's motorcade was blocked by a crowd of around 200-300 people while he was on his way to the victim's home. Mr Abdullah got out of his car and told them that it was a murder as the boy was returning from his tuition with books in his hand and two bullets were shot at his chest. "There is no other way of terming this incident," he said.
"This is not anything less than murder. I cannot bring back Altaf, but I can try to wipe the tears from his father's face by ensuring that he gets justice," said Mr Abdullah adressing people who had blocked his motorcade.
"Do you shoot protesters in other parts of the country because they are asking for electricity? No, you don't," said Mr Abdullah. The public anger was genuine but the response was not, he said, pointing out that the government had dealt with "tougher situations" last year without having to use such force.
After his fiery impromptu speech, the crowd seemed satisfied. Indicative, perhaps, of a general perception that the response of his government was swifter and firmer than in the case of Tufail Mattoo, the teen who was killed in firing by security forces in June 2010.
Mattoo's killing had led to a massive upsurge of violent protests in the valley and widespread condemnation of what was seen as Omar Abdullah's detached response.
This time though, perhaps, having learnt from the past, the state government is taking a clear, much tougher, stand. It has already lodged a strong protest with the Centre and has also announced a compensation of Rs one lakh for the kin of the dead.
"The CISF whose personnel have opened fire in this incident are not a part of the counter-insurgency grid, but have been deployed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) exclusively for the security of the installations across the state. We have taken up the matter with the Union Home Ministry," B R Sharma, Principal Secretary (Home), Jammu & Kashmir said.
The Opposition is unimpressed with the Chief Minister's response on the matter. "Omar has mishandled the crisis... creating the the mess that is forcing people to protest for the basic amenities," said Mehbooba Mufti, PDP President.
"The incident has once again brought into sharp focus the issue of whether the security forces in the Valley are far removed from the ground reality," she added.
The incident reportedly occurred after some people in the crowd tried to force their entry into the office of the NHPC. The CISF personnel guarding the complex allegedly opened fire.
However, eyewitnesses claim that the protesters were not trying to overrun the plant and the incident occurred in the residential area of the NHPC. They also claim that the 16-year-old student was shot twice in the chest.
Five CISF personnel have been arrested so far. "An internal investigation has been launched... Strict action will be taken against the guilty," said N R Das, Director General CISF.
Bashir Ahmed, Altaf's father, does not know how to react. "They have killed my son... what will I do... what will happen to me," is all he could manage to say to the Chief Minister. Now, he waits to see if the justice promised to him will be delivered. And the irony of it all -- the family does not even has an electricity connection.