Srinagar: While strongly condemning the inaction of government against the army personals who are involved in Tahir Rasool Sofi’s murder, chairman Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Geelani said that the investigation of this case was handed over to the district magistrate Baramulla, although he have submitted the investigation report a year ago but they have neither taken any action on the report nor has been any case registered against the accused personals.
According to a statement issued to KNS, he said that if any other authority is really present in the Jammu and Kashmir other than army then the personals involved in this unjust murder should be immediately arrested and they should be made accountable for this unjust murder of an innocent student in a civil court.
Hurriyat (G) chairman said that after the 24 days of Afzal Guroo’s hanging, the personals of 46-RR without any provocation opened fire and martyred Tahir Rasool Sofi son of Ghulam Rasool Sofi.
“On 6th march two important ministers of Omar lead government visited the Baramulla and announced a magisterial enquiry into the said incident and then this inquiry was handed over to the one member committee Additional District Magistrate Baramulla. He said that on the notification of the enquiry commission, 21 eye witnesses appeared before it and got their statements recorded and the Commanding Officer (CO) of 46-RR also submitted his statement before the commission in this regard. After detailed examination of every aspect of the case, the said commission submitted its report on 18th June 2013 which clearly indicated the personals of 46-RR for this murder.”
Geelani said that the inquiry report presented by the Additional District Magistrate also states that due to the shutdown call given by many organizations on 5 March 2013, all the commercial and other activities were halted in Baramulla, but the situation was calm and no protests were being held in the town and the youths were playing cricket in the Eidgah of the old town.
“According to the report the party of 46-RR appeared in the area at around 2 p.m. and ransacked residential houses, shops, street vendors and vehicles in the Ganie Hamam and Kukar Hamam mohalas. The army personals after ransacking in Ganai Hamam locality retracted towards the Khanpora Bridge and at around 3 p.m., the army personals without any provocation opened fire at a group of youth who were at the Ganie Hamam side of the Khanpora bridge and the bullet hit a teenager boy Mohammad Abad Lilu who was shifted to the district hospital Baramulla where from he was referred to Bone & Joint hospital Barzulla Srinagar.”
The report further states that at around 4 p.m. same day the army personal once again opened 2 rounds of fire and of these one of the bullet hit the face of Tahir Rasool Sofi S/o Ghulam Rasool Sofi resident of Ganie Mohallah Baramulla killing him on the spot, although he was shifted to the district hospital Baramulla where he was declared as brought dead by the doctors. Even though the army has written in their statement that the youth attacked their personals, with the result they opened fire but the District Magistrate termed this statement as baseless and stated that at that time there were neither any kind of protest nor was any stone pelting incident going on and nor were there any type of sloganeering.
According to Geelani, the completion of the investigation report and its submission to the government has completed a year now but no action has been taken so far and this attitude of the government proves his stand that the appointment of commissions and committees after such incidents are merely a formality and its only purpose is to silence the voice of people for time being.
“The government is neither sincere about the investigation nor is it in position to prosecute the army personals due to the presence of black laws like AFSPA and disturbed areas act. Chairman Hurriyat said that due to this reason our permanent stand is that all the crimes committed by the Indian army and other government forces in Jammu and Kashmir should be investigated by any independent international agency and the personals involved in the war crimes should be tried in the International Court of Justice and punished accordingly.”
The pro-freedom leader questioned the Omar Abdullah led government that they should come clear over the result of investigation in the killing of Tahir Rasool Sofi that had they tried to prosecute the culprits or not.