Srinagar/New Delhi : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday visited curfew-bound Handwara town to take stock of the situation even as the Central government decided to send more paramilitary forces to the state – on the boil for four days over civilian killings by security forces.
Mehbooba Mufti met relatives of the youths killed on Tuesday in the security force firing in Handwara. Her visit to Handwara comes as restrictions imposed by authorities and the protest shutdown called by separatists continued in Srinagar for the fourth day.
Meanwhile, the mother of the young girl allegedly molested by a soldier in Handwara town, the incident that triggered the violent protests in the Valley, on Saturday approached the state high court maintaining that her daughter was being held in “unlawful confinement” by the state police.
The chief minister, meeting with relatives of the killed youths, expressed condolences and asserted that the state government would ensure that anybody found guilty of having violated the standard operating procedure (SOP) during Tuesday’s incident would face the process of law. “I had wanted to visit Kupwara with a special economic package, but it is unfortunate that I had to come to console the bereaved families,” Mehbooba Mufti said.
She also promised ex-gratia relief to the next of kin of the slain youth.
Authorities had enforced curfew restrictions strictly in the town during the chief minister’s visit. She interacted with relatives of the victims and senior officials of the district administration at the Kupwara Dak Bungalow in the town.
In New Delhi, union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in a meeting of senior officials from the Intelligence Bureau, ministry of defence, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and the ministry of home affairs reviewed the situation in the Valley and assessed the requirements of the Jammu and Kashmir government to bring the situation under control without any more loss of life. “The central government is concerned over the loss of human lives in J&K during the last four days. It was decided to send additional Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to strengthen the security grid in the Kashmir Valley,” a home ministry statement said. The statement said the ministry has assured “full cooperation and support to the government of J&K to ensure that there is no further loss of lives”. On Friday, protesters attacked the Natnusa camp of the counter insurgency Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in Kupwara. Soldiers at the camp fired at the protesters who army said had tried to enter the camp. Meanwhile, the mother of the girl allegedly molested by a soldier told the state high court that her daughter was being held in ‘unlawful confinement’ by the state police. The girl’s mother has also alleged that the statement attributed to her daughter in which she said there had been no molestation attempt on her had been obtained by police ‘under coercion’.
