Graphic Videos of Violence By Government Forces Shakes Humanity

SRINAGAR: A day after mobile internet services were resumed, social media has been taken by a storm in the Valley by graphic videos depicting scenes of violence, including the "cold-blooded murder" of a protester by government forces in Budgam district last Sunday.



The J&K government had ordered a probe into the killing while the police has registered a case after the video, first posted on Facebook, showed forces apparently opening fire at a group of protesters pelting stones at a polling booth.

"An FIR has also been lodged in the case of video by Budgam police. We have registered a case in connection with that incident also. It is a matter of investigation and action will be taken against whoever is found guilty,” J&K Police DGP, SP Vaid, said.

Another video from the volatile Sunday showed a man, identifed as Farooq Dar, tied in front of an army jeep on the polling day in Budgam's Beerwah. According to army sources, an Army unit of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was deployed in the area on the polling day.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who represents Beerwah in state assembly, posted the "shocking" video on Twitter, demanding an inquiry. "This young man was TIED to the front of an army jeep to make sure no stones were thrown at the jeep? This is just so shocking!!!!," he tweeted.

The Army said it is investigating the video which was shot near a Beerwah village, "In reference to the video showing a young man tied to an army jeep, the contents of the video are being verified and investigated," a Srinagar-based defence spokesman said.

In another video, a group of paramilitary forces are seen walking out of a polling station in Budgam, the epicentre of violence last Sunday, much before the polling had ended, apparently after being told by locals to "wind up" as the news of civilian killings had spread.

The group of protesters, some of them masked, manhandle the troopers while one protester snatches the protective helmet from a soldier and smashes it on the ground while another youth urges restraint. Another youth puts an arm around second trooper and makes him respond to his slogan, "Go India", with "Go Back".

DGP Vaid said the police has filed an FIR into the matter and the culprits will be arrested, “I admire the patience of the CRPF personnel ... any armed force in the world would have retaliated with force. It would have led to death of those ruffians,” he said.

The videos triggered a huge storm on the social media with politicians, businessmen, media personalities, cricketers, Bollywood stars and the omnipresent Hindutva trolls, calling for action against Kashmiris. Many regretted how only one side of the story is being reported.

Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti expressed anguish over the surfacing of videos linked to polling day in Budgam and has sought a detailed report from the J&K police in this regard.

"Terming the display of acts in the videos as unacceptable, the Chief Minister has asked the Police to submit a detailed report about these incidents to her so that necessary action is initiated," a government spokesman said.