Case against CRPF for firing on Kashmir protestors

A case has been registered against a Central Reserve Police Force unit for allegedly using "excessive force" against persons protesting hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru that left one person dead and four others injured.

"An FIR has been registered against the personnel 92 Battalion CRPF in connection with the Watergam incident," Deputy Commissioner Baramulla G A Khwaja told PTI.

The FIR under relevant sections of the law was registered on Monday, he said.

Two CRPF personnel have been detained for questioning following registration of the case in Dangiwacha police station, according to official sources.

Calls to CRPF spokesperson Sudhir Kumar seeking his response to the development were not immediately returned.

The FIR was lodged based on report submitted by Sub-Divisional Magistrate Nayeem Balkhi, the executive magistrate on duty during the curfew, who held that the CRPF personnel used "excessive force while dealing a minor stone-pelting incident", the sources said.

Balkhi, in his report, has said that the security forces could have resorted to baton charge to bring the situation under control, they said.

The sources said the executive magistrate has maintained that there was no permission given to the CRPF personnel for opening firing on the protesters.

One youth, Ubaid Mushtaq, was killed while four others were injured allegedly in security forces action on Sunday in Watergam village of Baramulla district against persons staging protest against hanging of Guru a day earlier.