Wanted to visit slain tribal leader’s house, put under house arrest: Mehbooba

SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has gone from bad to worse and accused the Centre of using a “muscular policy” to reap political dividends.

Mufti claimed she has been placed under house arrest to prevent her from visiting the family of a Muslim man who was shot dead by CRPF personnel on Thursday in Anantnag district.

“The situation in J&K has gone from bad to worse. My fears are compounded by the fact that instead of course correction, GOI will continue its muscular policy to reap political dividends in elections. Case in point being the upcoming UP polls,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

“Under house arrest for the umpteenth time today. Wanted to visit the family of the innocent civilian shot dead by CRPF. GOI wants us to selectively condemn killings. They are outraged only in cases where hate politics can be lapped up to polarise people,” she added..

On the evening of October 7, CRPF had opened fire on a vehicle allegedly charging at a checkpoint at Monghal Bridge in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, resulting in the death of a person who has now been identified as Parvaiz Ahmad Bokad, a tribal.

Police said that the suspected vehicle without number was signaled to stop by the CRPF’S Naka-party; however, it rushed towards the party.

“Troops fired in self defence in which one person died. But the driver of the vehicle managed to escape from the spot,” police spokesman said.

Zakir Khan, brother-in-law of Parvaiz , told a news portal that Parvaiz was preparing to travel to Jammu the next day and had gone out to arrange a vehicle.

He said that the minutes before the incident, he had called his wife and said he was on his way home at Mattan where he was putting up with his wife and two daughters, aged two and five. Khan said his brother-inlaw didn’t deserve to be killed irrespective of whether he jumped a naka or not.

“Even if he had jumped the checkpoint, why didn’t forces shoot the tyre of the vehicle or fire warning shots? Both the driver and the vehicle are under police custody,” he said.

He also alleged that police forced the family to bury him in the dead of the night. “We couldn’t even give him a proper bath,” he alleged.