Srinagar: In the aftermath of the killing of
an innocent youth in North Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday pulled up the Army for violating
the Standard operating Procedure which led to his death.
Chairing a meeting here this morning, Lt Gen Syed Ata
Hasnain, Corps Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, was
conveyed in no uncertain terms that the incident involving
innocent people were detrimental to the peace process and that
the troops should strictly adhere to SoP agreed upon in
various Unified Headquarters meetings, official sources said.
The meeting came after a specialised unit of the Army --
Four Para -- had laid a cordon in an area at Handwara in North
Kashmir on Friday night that led to death of an innocent, who
allegedly did not adhere to warnings to stop by the troops.
Gen Hasnain, while accepting the mistake on the part of
the Army, told the meeting that an inquiry was underway to
ascertain facts.
Police, in the meantime, has registered a case against
Four-Para of Army for the death of 21-year-old Manzoor, shot
dead by the Army troops when he accidentally walked into an
ambush laid by the troops for terrorists who were believed to
have managed to slip in from across the border.
During the meeting it was suggested to the Army that they
should carry non-lethal weapons when they lay cordon in
civilian areas so that such incidents did not take place in
future.
PTI
