A youth who was critically injured in the Army firing on a mob at Ganowpora in Shopian on January 27 succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, the third fatality in the incident.
His death is likely to further strain relations between the PDP and its coalition partner, the BJP, that had demanded the withdrawal of an FIR filed against the Army in the incident.
Clashes were reported from Pulwama after the news of the death of Rayees Ahmed Ganai spread in south Kashmir.
Ganai (19) died at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar on Wednesday morning.
A resident of Narpora, Ganai was hit in the head and was kept in ICU for five days.
A BJP legislator, R.S. Pathani, had demanded the FIR against the Army, including a major, should be withdrawn in view of the attack by the stone pelters on an Army convoy.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, however, rejected the BJP's demand and told the state Assembly the Army had violated a police advisory that said it shouldn't take the Ganowpora route.
"During the meeting of the Unified Headquarters recently, I told the forces to show restraint in controlling law and order and fire in the air," she said.
The FIR against the Army was lodged after two boys were killed in Army firing and few others, including Ganai, were injured when the Army opened fire on the stone pelters who attacked a convoy.
Mufti assured the Assembly that investigations into the killings will be completed within 15 days.
''The investigations into the killings would be taken to its logical conclusion,'' she said during discussions on the adjournment motion on the killings.
Mufti told the Assembly that civilian killings impede the restoration of the political process in the state.
She also dialled Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and demanded action against the accused Army men.
She called the trigger-happy Army men as ''black sheep who need to be identified and weeded out'' to enhance the Army's image.
“Incidents like Shopian remind us that we cannot afford confrontation at any level and there is an urgent need to engage in a meaningful dialogue at all levels,'' she said.
She said dialogue has no alternative within the state and between India and Pakistan as people of the state are victims of the two countries' acrimony.
The adjournment motion was moved by CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami.
National Conference leader Ali Muhammad Sagar said the Army men involved in the killing of the two boys should be arrested.
He said civilian killings contribute to the loss of political space for the mainstream in Kashmir. He called for maximum restraint.
The leader of the opposition, Omar Abdullah, stressed the need for a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue.
“This House should rise above party politics, speak in one voice and introspect why such tragic incidents are taking place frequently,'' he said. ''Now that FIR has been lodged in the Shopian incident, the police should be allowed to do their job as names of the accused have been mentioned in the FIR.”
Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday demanded that the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition in Jammu and Kashmir be dismissed for refusing to withdraw the FIR against the Army. His remarks, however, had no impact on the PDP, which is finding itself increasingly isolated on the issue of rights abuse.
However, state DGP S.P. Vaid on Tuesday said the police will take into consideration the Army version of the incident.
"The Army's version, eyewitness accounts and the statements of those who lost their near and dear ones would be included," Vaid said in a press conference. "We will go through all facts and the ground evidence of the case and the Army will also be questioned," Vaid said.
He said FIR is the start of the investigation process. ''FIR names the unit of the Army headed by a particular person."
