YOUTH KILLED IN ALLEGED FAKE ENCOUNTER, DEFENCE MINISTER ORDERS PROBE

Defence Minister A.K. Antony has showed concern over local protests instigated by the killing of a teenager in Jammu and Kashmir and has directed the army to initiate strict action if anyone was found guilty. Earlier the Indian army had refused to hold an inquiry into the incident of youth killing while reiterating that the youth killed by army was a militant. “The defence minister has ordered an inquiry into the killing of a youth in Bandipore. He has directed the army to take strict action if anybody is found guilty in the case,” defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said. It is notable that the Bandipore district magistrate has also ordered a magisterial probe into the killing of 19-year-old Hilal Ahmad Dar. Dar belong to Aloosa village of this district and he was shot dead in an alleged staged shoot-out between army personnel and suspected militants on Tuesday, 24th of July, 2012. Protests broke out in the area after Dar’s body was handed over to relatives for burial. There are reports that the police resorted to use of force to suppress the protests and about two dozen villagers were injured due to force used by the police in Bandipore town when protesters carrying his body shouted anti-government slogans and pelted stones at the security forces.