Shopian: Mehbooba Mufti says deeply disressed by killing of civilians, NC demands probe

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said she is deeply distressed by the killing of civilians in "crossfire" in Shopian district here.

Six people, including two militants, were killed in a firing incident last night in south Kashmir's Shopian district after the ultras fired upon a joint check-point of the security forces. "Deeply distressed by more deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire in Shopian. My heartfelt condolences to the deceased's families," Mehbooba said in a tweet. After the incident, schools and educational institutes, which were to open today after two-month-long winter break, were closed as a precautionary measure in the Valley.  Opposition National Conference (NC) today demanded a probe into the firing incident in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir and said the killings cannot be justified by labelling the deceased as overground workers of militant groups (OGWs).

Six persons, including two militants, have been killed in the last night's shootout in Shopian's Pahnoo area. While the Army claimed that the slain youths were militants and their associates, the police on the other hand didn't make any such claims and said they are still investigating the incident. "We are deeply shocked and grieved at the continued and unabated bloodshed in Kashmir. The Shopian killings cannot be justified with an arbitrary, unproven pronouncement of the youth being OGWs," a spokesperson of the National Conference said.

He said the circumstances leading to killings in last night's shootout in Shopian should be probed and the report be made public. "The circumstances and details should be probed and made public by the state government," he added. Last night, a joint MVCP (mobile vehicle check post) near Pahnoo in Shopian had signalled a car to stop, but it did not. The armymen were fired upon and they retaliated, in which six people, including two militants, were killed.