Army Custodial Deaths Case: On December 21, terrorists had ambushed two army vehicles in the Surankote area of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 4 soldiers were martyred and 3 others were injured. In this case, 8 local people were taken for questioning, out of which the family members had made allegations of suspicious death of 3 in army custody. The Army has ordered a ‘Court of Inquiry’ in this matter. On Saturday (30 December), when PDP President Mehbooba Mufti was going to meet the families of the three victims, she was stopped midway by the security forces.
PDP leaders said Mufti along with other party colleagues were stopped by the police at Dera Gali near Bafliaz and were not allowed to proceed towards Topa Peer village to meet the families of the victims.
After her convoy was stopped from moving forward, Mufti decided to travel on foot. At the same time, when the security forces stopped them, PDP staged a dharna on the road as a major protest. He demanded that he be allowed to go to the village.
#WATCH , Poonch, J&K: PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti was stopped by Police at DKG road for security reasons. https://t.co/3g8XoXE6br pic.twitter.com/OcwjEXxgQd
— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2023
After the terrorist attack, three civilians – Safir Hussain (43), Mohammad Shaukat (27) and Shabbir Ahmed (32) were picked up for questioning by the army, who died suspiciously the next day after being taken into custody.
BJP President Ravinder Raina met the victims’ families
Recently BJP President Ravinder Raina had met the families of the victims. Mehbooba raised questions on the permission given by the administration and the decision not to let them go. Last week, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had announced compensation and jobs for the families of the deceased civilians.
#WATCH , Poonch, J&K: PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti stopped by Police at DKG road over security reasons; says, “BJP president Ravinder Raina can come here, National Conference leaders can come but they tell us that there is some threat here. I think the biggest threat here is these… pic.twitter.com/choXWqgqXk
— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2023
‘Order for a thorough internal investigation into the death’
The administration had also said that medico-legal formalities have been completed and legal action has been initiated by the appropriate authority in this matter. The Army has ordered a thorough internal investigation into the deaths of the three civilians and said it is committed to providing full support and cooperation in the conduct of the investigation.
‘We are being prevented from finding out the circumstances’
He said that he does not want us to go there and find out the situation. He alleged that they wanted to hide something. The people of Jammu and Kashmir did not come to Gandhiji’s India as refugees. Our people are being driven out of the beautiful land and forests of Jammu and Kashmir.
,With PTI-Bhasha and ANI inputs,
