Mehbooba Mufti demands probe into militant's death in Shopian, calls it 'catch and kill' policy

The former chief minister said the killing of Kashmiri Pandits and labourers was condemnable but the death of an accused by militants while he was in police custody has given rise to allegations that it was part of the "catch and kill" policy.

Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the killing of an arrested "hybrid" Lashkar-e-Toiba militant during an anti-militancy operation in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The former chief minister said the killing of Kashmiri Pandits and labourers was condemnable but the death of an accused by militants while he was in police custody has given rise to allegations that it was part of the "catch and kill" policy.

"This has been earlier used in Punjab. It looks like there will be attempts to disturb the peace here as the elections in Gujarat and Himachal draw closer so that BJP can get the maximum benefit from the Hindu-Muslim polarisation," she alleged.

Imran Bashir Ganai was arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of two labourers at Harmain in the Shopian district in the early hours of Tuesday. According to police, Ganai was also killed early on Wednesday in firing by militants when police launched an anti-terror operation in Naugam area of the district.

"Based on the disclosure of arrested hybrid terrorist and in continuous raids by police and security forces, another contact has been established between terrorists and SFs at Nowgam, Shopian, in which hybrid terrorist Imran Bashir Ganai was killed by the firing of another terrorist," Kashmir Zone police said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Hybrid militants are not listed as ultras but are radicalised enough to carry out a terror strike and then slip back into the routine life. Taking to Twitter, Mehbooba Mufti questioned the police claim that terrorists managed to kill Ganai while he was in custody, saying it defies logic and deserves a thorough investigation.

"If militants can kill someone in the custody of police with such ease, it goes on to show what could be the fate of ordinary people," Mehbooba told reporters after a meeting at her party office.