Srinagar: A political row has erupted between the PDP and BJP, the two factions of the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, over the FIR filed against Army personnel in connection with the deaths of two civilians in Shopian district.
Angry BJP legislators protested in the state Assembly on Monday, demanding that the case be withdrawn, but chief minister Mehbooba Mufti was resolute that it would be taken to its logical conclusion.
BJP’s RS Pathania questioned the need to register an FIR in the name of some individuals for such serious offences at such an early stage. “First, there should have been an inquiry. Our stand is that an FIR under such serious offences should not have been registered on the very first day,” he said.
Mufti, who was repeatedly interrupted during her address to the House, defended the move to lodge an FIR and said she did not believe the action would have a demoralising effect on the force.
Terming the incident a "setback" to the political process, Mufti said she spoken about it to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman who asked her to take the required action in case there was "carelessness".
The J&K Police had on Sunday registered an FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code against personnel of the 10 Garhwal unit of the Army.
“I do not accept that the Army gets demoralised by such actions. The Army is an institution and has done a wonderful job. But a black sheep can be anywhere... Among judges there can be black sheep, but we can't paint every one with the same brush,” Mufti said.
She said if somebody commits a mistake, he should be punished as such a course only brings laurels to the institution. "If some Army officer has committed a mistake, an FIR has been lodged and it is the duty of the government to take it to a logical conclusion," Mufti said.
Giving details, she said two militants and a civilian were killed in an encounter on January 24. "The police asked the Army to not pass through the village as one of the militants killed in the encounter was its resident. The Army, because of some compulsion, took the route but their vehicles came under stone pelting resulting in the killing of two civilians in the firing," she said.
The Army says it fired in "self-defence" when its convoy came under "unprovoked and intense stone pelting" by a mob.
It is a "big issue", Mufti, who leads a PDP-BJP coalition in the state, said. Every now and then we have "unfortunate" incidents that should not have happened, she added.
She told the House that she had talked to Sitharaman immediately after learning about the incident and she was positive in her response. "She said if you feel there is carelessness (on the part of the Army), you take whatever action you want to take. Subsequently, we lodged an FIR and ordered a magisterial probe," the chief minister said.
(With PTI inputs)
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