JK: Hunger strike on fake encounter enters 2nd day

Srinagar, Feb 7: A three-day hunger strike started by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik in protest against the killing of innocent Kashmiris in fake encounters, entered its second day today.

Mr Malik, a heart patient, was sitting in a tent erected on the main road near the JKLF headquarter at Maisuma near here. A large number of people, including senior JKLF leaders and women, were seen wishing him success in his fight against the injustice.

JKLF chief started the three-day fast yesterday when the entire Kashmir valley observed complete shut down in protest against the killing of four innocent people by the Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police in fake encounters and later buried them after labelling them as ''terrorists''.

The strike call was given by Mr Malik, which was supported by a number of other separatists and other organisations.

He has threatened to start fast unto death if all Human Rights violations were not stopped immediately.

Following massive protests, Jammu and Kashmir government ordered a judicial inquiry into the fake encounter cases. The issue rocked the state assembly now in session at Jammu.

The issue surfaced after one Abdul Rehman Padder had gone missing from Batamaloo here on December 8, 2006. A missing report was lodged with the Batamaloo police station here by his family on January 23 this year. Padder, a carpenter, was later allegedly killed by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police in a fake encounter at Waskar in Ganderbal and dubbed a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant, Abu Hafiz, a resident of Multan in Pakistan. However, his mobile phone, he was carrying at the time of his arrest, helped the police special team to reach his killers.

An AK-47 assault rifle, three magazines, 36 rounds of ammunition and a grenade were also claimed to have been seized from his possession.

The SOG men were reportedly awarded Rs 1,20,000 for killing him.

Similarly, the SOG personnel were rewarded and promoted for killing three other innocent people and later labeling them as militants.

Experts from Chandigrah in the presence of police exhumed four bodies of civilians, including Padder, who went missing after their arrest. The SOG later killed them in fake encounters at different places and later buried at Ganderbal, Ajas and Kangan.

Police, later, arrested four SOG officials, including Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hans Raj Pariha and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP-Operations) Ganderbal Bahadur Ram for kidnapping and later killing the civilians. All the accused were sent in 14 days police remand by a local court here.

JKLF chief said about 8000 Kashmiris were missing in the Jammu and Kashmir since 1990. However, officials said the only few hundreds were missing in the state.

UNI

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