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| 'No end to Shopian's agony: Curfew lifted, strike continues | | | Mustansir
Srinagar, Sept22: Although the authorities lifted 15-day long curfew from Shopian on Sunday, life seemed far from returning to normal as locals have been forced to stay indoor due to strike. Shopian had been under strict curfew since the killing of four youth by the CRPF at Gagran on September 7. Locals have been demanding the removal of the CRPF camp from the area and action against the guilty under law. As the curfew was removed people were seen moving out of their houses, however, shops and business establishments remained closed. Although the process of replacing the CRPF personnel in the camp with the state policemen as ordered by the government has begun, local traders have sought a deadline from the district authorities regarding the completion of process. District administration has set October 10 as deadline for completely shifting the Gagran camp. Meanwhile the local trade federation, fruit growers association, transporters union and senior citizens are preparing for a joint meeting in which the decision of returning to normal is expected. The situation in curfew has eclipsed the commerce of the region and has had a cascading effect on the adjoining districts of Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam. Curfew in Shopian has brought to halt the activities along the mughal road. This has seriously impacted the apple growers of the region. Meanwhile the police have maintained that three of the youth killed in the first firing incident on Sept 7 were civilians while the fourth was a militant of the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit, Abdullah Haroon. They had said the same thing immediately after the incident, but were forced to send a mobile phone and SIM card, recovered from the youth, for forensic tests to Chandigarh. This, after the state cabinet asked them to come clear on the youth's identity. Even senior Congress leader Ghulam Hassan Khan, has alleged that the slain man was a Bihari labourer. The forensic test report is yet to come, and a magisterial probe ordered by the government is still on. But the Inspector General of Police, Abdul Gani Mir, said that the youth was a confirmed militant as his colleague, Fahadullah, a senior LeT man arrested several months ago, had identified him. |
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