Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said he had raised the issue of recent two civilian deaths with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his recent meeting in New Delhi. Omar was referring to the recent deaths of civilians Waseem Ahmad Mir of Bomai, Sopore, and Makhan Din of Kathua that sparked widespread outrage. While Makhan Din died by suicide after allegedly being tortured, Mir died in Army’s firing on the night of February 6 after he allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint. “I discussed with the Home Minister on the civilian killings in Sopore and Kathua and urged him to conduct a transparent inquiry into the both incidents and if anybody found guilty should be punished as per the law of land”, the CM told media persons in Ganderbal today. He said the matter of restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir was also discussed during the meeting with the Home Minister.
“Matters related to the Budget session of the Union Territory beginning from March 3 were also discussed. Besides, several issues related to Jammu and Kashmir were also discussed during the meeting,” Omar said.
PDP chief had said that Omar should have raised the death of two youths in Sopore and Kathua during his meeting with the Union Home Minister.
“There were two deaths recently. A truck driver Waseem was killed in army firing from close range, the doctors have confirmed it, and the other was 25-year Old Makhan Din who was tortured by police so much that he committed suicide.
“In such a situation, we had expected that the chief minister would raise this issue with the Home Minister during his recent meeting,” Mufti told reporters here.
The former chief minister also flagged police brutality in the Union Territory, demanding that they be indicted.