J&K policeman suspended over the killing of youth during protests in Ganderbal

SRINAGAR: A Jammu and Kashmir Police constable was on Wednesday suspended over charges of firing on a protester in the Ganderbal district of the state. A police statement said Gulzar Ahmad of Ganderbal district was placed under suspension till a detailed enquiry is underway into his involvement in the killing of Gowhar Ahmad Rather. Gowhar succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday after he was shot at in Kangan on Monday.

The man was buried on Wednesday morning in Kangan town after authorities assured the family that those responsible for his death would be punished. A police spokesman said a departmental inquiry was ordered and entrusted to the DIG (central Kashmir) to ascertain the sequence of events in which he was injured. "A magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the Deputy Commissioner of Ganderbal as well," the spokesman said.

Owing to tensions in the area, traffic on the otherwise busy Srinagar-Sonamarg highway that passes through Kangan town remained suspended for a second day on Wednesday.

A resident of Kangan in Ganderbal, Gowhar was admitted to the SKIMS hospital with critical head injuries. He was on ventilator support since Monday when he was injured during clashes between protesters and security forces in Kangan area.

The locals alleged that he sustained pellet injuries, but the police are denying the claims. "Reports regarding bullet injury are completely false since no bullet was fired at the spot," the spokesman said.

The police spokesman in fact said that Gowhar had fallen into a drain due to which he sustained injuries. "A group of miscreants had gathered in Kangan market to pelt stones. A police party soon reached the spot. The miscreants started to run after seeing the personnel, in the course of which Gowhar Ahmad Rather fell down and hit his head on the edge of the drain," the police spokesman said.