J&K govt to expedite investigations in Sopore killings

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has taken a serious view of the killings of the civilians in Sopore and has issued directions to the state home department to step up investigations and provide secure environment to all civilians, an official statement said.

Mufti’s directions follow the killing of four persons in Sopore in the last ten days.

Militants gunned down two former militants in Sopore town on Sunday.

“The matter is also scheduled to be discussed in the meeting of the unified headquarters, which has been convened on June 17,” the statement said.

An official statement issued on Monday afternoon confirmed that the police has taken all possible steps to fast-track the investigation into all the relevant aspects of the incidents and has set up special monitoring mechanism.

The statement further stated that ‘government is making all out efforts to ensure the safety and security of the innocent civilians’.

Two persons connected with the telecom business were killed and three others wounded in a string of attacks on the facilities.  

Meanwhile, Kashmir separatists put up a united front against the Sopore killings and have called for a shutdown on Wednesday.

Leaders of the moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the hardline APHC and the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front held a joint meeting in Srinagar to chalk out a joint strategy against the Sopore killings.

In a statement, the leaders of these groups condemned the killings and said that “separatists cannot be mute spectators to the innocent killings in Sopore” and asked the people to support the joint protest programme of the separatists.

The statement further said that leaders of these separatist groups, Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik will travel to Sopore on Friday to “show solidarity with the people there”.  

Sopore has been has been restive since the last month. The trouble started after a little known outfit, Lashkar-e-Islami carried out string of attacks against the cellular services leading to their disruption in the town, which have, however, been restored.