Omar raps Army for youth''s death

Srinagar, Feb 6 (PTI) In the aftermath of the killing ofan innocent youth in North Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir ChiefMinister Omar Abdullah today pulled up the Army for violatingthe Standard operating Procedure which led to his death.

Chairing a meeting here this morning, Lt Gen Syed AtaHasnain, Corps Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, wasconveyed in no uncertain terms that the incident involvinginnocent people were detrimental to the peace process and thatthe troops should strictly adhere to SoP agreed upon invarious Unified Headquarters meetings, official sources said.

The meeting came after a specialised unit of the Army --Four Para -- had laid a cordon in an area at Handwara in NorthKashmir on Friday night that led to death of an innocent, whoallegedly did not adhere to warnings to stop by the troops.

Gen Hasnain, while accepting the mistake on the part ofthe Army, told the meeting that an inquiry was underway toascertain facts.

Police, in the meantime, has registered a case againstFour-Para of Army for the death of 21-year-old Manzoor, shotdead by the Army troops when he accidentally walked into anambush laid by the troops for terrorists who were believed tohave managed to slip in from across the border.

During the meeting it was suggested to the Army that theyshould carry non-lethal weapons when they lay cordon incivilian areas so that such incidents did not take place infuture.