Killing of innocent youth in police firing outcome of 'dual power system' J-K minister

     Jammu, Jul 26 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir minister Javed Ahmad Rana on Saturday claimed that the recent killing of a Gujjar man in police firing was the result of the "dual power system" in the Union territory, a reference to the LG administration and the Omar Abdullah government.
     The Centre must honour the public mandate and give full powers to the National Conference-led elected government by restoring statehood to the Union territory, Rana said.
    He visited the house of Parvez Ahmad (21), a Gujjar hailing from the Nikki Tawi area of Jammu, who was allegedly killed in a crossfire when police were reportedly chasing drug peddlers in the Satwari area on Thursday.
     Later, a Congress delegation led by Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra and senior BJP leader Ravinder Raina visited his house. The Congress delegation has demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.
    Ahmad's killing sparked protests by his community as the family accused police of murdering an "innocent" man in a "staged" encounter.
    A magisterial probe has already been ordered, while two policemen involved in the incident are suspended, and an inquiry to be headed by a sub-divisional police officer, Jammu south, is also pending.
    "I have visited the family to express sympathies on behalf of the government over the killing of the innocent man. This is barbarism, and a judicial probe should be ordered into this incident," the minister said.
     There are some officers who are misusing the "dual power" system in J-K to "hide their weakness" to effectively fight drug peddling, Rana said.
    "We request Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, to bring balance in the system as was the practice in the past...we used to have officers from every community at the top, which is now missing," Rana said, adding that the balance in the administration is imperative and accountability a must.
    He said the Omar Abdullah government would not tolerate such incidents and would do whatever was necessary to provide justice to the bereaved family.
    The minister claimed that a particular community is being targeted on the false pretext of drug trafficking to defame them.
     He claimed that police have also admitted that an "innocent" person was killed, and therefore, the FIR registered in the incident should be corrected by including the names of the erring policemen and the officers who supervised the operation.
    Advocating the immediate restoration of statehood to J-K, he said the Centre must respect the people's mandate in favour of the National Conference and ensure full powers to the government so that "we will maintain law and order and improve the system by ensuring a balance of the officers".
     The Congress delegation that visited the Gujjar youth's house termed his killing as unfortunate and supported the demand for a judicial probe into the incident.
     Karra, J-K Congress working president Raman Bhalla, AICC secretary Shah Nawaz Chaudhary and former legislators Ravinder Sharma and Ved Mahajan met the bereaved family and expressed their grief over the incident.
     "Police have themselves given a clean chit to the victim... In such circumstances, a judicial probe, besides the arrest of culprits, should be ordered and an FIR under relevant provisions should be registered," Karra said.
     BJP leader Raina also visited Parvez Ahmed's family and assured them that appropriate action will be taken against the culprits, asserting that nobody was "above the law".
     "Our country is run by the law of the land, and if anybody has violated the law, appropriate action will be taken against him," Raina said.
     Raina added that he supported a judicial probe and police SIT into the incident.
     Senior CPI(M) leader and Kulgam MLA Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami demanded a fair and time-bound investigation into the killing.
     "It is tragic and unacceptable if protectors themselves are involved in such unfortunate incidents. This not only shakes public confidence but also poses a serious question mark on the rule of law," he said.
     "Justice must be ensured and responsibility fixed without any delay," Tarigami said.
     He added that the tribal community must not face any kind of harassment. "They should be allowed to move freely without fear or intimidation. Targeting any community under any pretext is highly unfortunate and unacceptable."

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)