Srinagar: "The court is the only authority to decide whether the investigation into Hyderpora gunfight was flawed or not. Families of slain members, media organisations and political leaders have no right to pass judgements," said Inspector General of Police Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar.
Inspector General of Police Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the Inspector General of Police Kashmir zone said that only the court has the authority to decide whether SIT investigation into the Hyderpora gunfight was flawed or not.
He said, "Families of slain can ask for probes by NIA, CBI and others if they are not satisfied with police investigations." He also urged politicians to refrain from instigating people by questioning police probes.
Speaking on Pantha Chowk gunfight, he said, "Acting on a specific lead about the presence of militants in Pantha Chowk area, police, along with CRPF, laid a siege and in the ensuing gunfight, three militants were killed. Three policemen and a CRPF man were injured and their condition is stable."
"One of the slain militants has been identified as a local militant Suhail Ahmed Rather. He was associated with Jaish-e-Muhammad and was involved in Zewan, Srinagar attack too. The other two seems to be are foreigners as no family or claim has come forward," he added.
Talking about the security situation in 2021, the IGP Kashmir said, "Burial of senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani was the major achievement of the year as it remained peaceful." There was no law and order problem and burial remained peaceful. So, it was a major achievement for the police this year. In 2022, Hybrid militancy will remain the biggest challenge for the police," he pointed out.
“After examining the CCTV footage, it was observed that youth carried out attacks on security forces. They haven’t categorised anywhere neither do we have their photographs in police stations,” he added.
He also said that some politicians questioned the term Hybrid militants, but the fact remains that “police coined the term in January 2021.” Talking about challenges in 2022, he said, "second major challenge will be to prevent policemen from becoming soft targets."
“Unarmed policemen were killed by militants. A few were killed while they were coming out of masjids or going to the market. In 2022, we will work to prevent such attacks," he said.
Sharing details about the present situation of Kashmir, he said, "At present 168 militants are active in Kashmir and the number of locals and foreign militants is almost equal."
“We have made a list of 25 Hybrid militants who aren’t categorised. 171 militants were killed in 2021 and an almost equal number of pistols were recovered. Five US-made M-4 carbine guns were also recovered from slain JeM militants. Almost all top commanders were killed and only four are active in Valley now," he said, adding, "34 civilians were killed this year against 37 last year. This year there was no collateral damage during encounters. Not a single civilian was killed in law and order incidents."
Also read: Farooq Abdullah says SIT report on Hyderpora gunfight 'false', demands judicial probe
