The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) has threatened to gherao BJP ministers if the FIR registered against Army officers is not withdrawn.
The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) has threatened to gherao BJP ministers if the FIR registered against Army officers is not withdrawn.
Police have registered a case against unnamed Army personnel in the incident of allegedly using a civilian as a human shield against stone-pelters during the polling in Beerwah area of the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.
"We demand withdrawal of the FIR against Army personnel.
The BJP and its governments at the Centre and the state should to seek unconditional apology from defence personnel for slapping cases against them," JKNPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh said here today.
"JKNPP workers will gherao the BJP ministers if they fail to seek unconditional apology from the Army and other security forces for bringing disgrace to them and the nation," he warned.
Singh condemned the assault and humiliation of security forces by the stone-pelters and registration of FIRs against unnamed Army personnel by the state police.
Amid the outrage over Kashmiri man who was tied to a jeep by the Army, a BJP MP came out in support of the Army. Last week, a video showing a man being tied to an army jeep as a shield against stone-pelters during the April 9 bypoll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency surfaced, drawing widespread condemnation and anger. Pratap Simha wrote on Twitter: "If any kind of action is initiated against brave Maj. Gogoi, let's start a nationwide campaign to support him."
The 26-year-old Farooq Ahmad Dar told DNA that he was paraded for 26 km allegedly to keep stone-pelters at bay. He said: "I cannot believe that I am alive. They first thrashed me and then tied me to the bonnet of the jeep and zoomed past several villages.”
Dar, who ekes out a living by working as a Sozni (handmade embroidery) craftsman, was on his way to Gampora when he was allegedly picked up by the army troopers near Putligam and tied to the bonnet of a jeep before being paraded around dozens of villages.
His brother Fayaz Ahmad added that Dar had even cast his vote before he left to attend the condolence meeting of a relative when he was allegedly caught by the army and tied to the bonnet of their jeep to keep stone throwers at bay.
Anger spread across Kashmir after the video went viral. Former CM Omar Abdullah tweeted Dar's picture, and demanded an investigation into the case. Later he posted a 19 second-video on his Twitter handle sparking an outrage on the social media. "Here's the video as well. A warning can be heard saying stone pelters will meet this fate. This requires an urgent inquiry & follow up NOW!!" Omar said.
According to a report in the Indian Express, the incident occurred on April 19 and he was paraded for nearly for four hours and driven nearly 25 km. Dar was quoted saying by the newspaper: “Gareeb log hain, kya karengey complain (We are poor people, what will we complain?). I live alone with my asthmatic mother who is 75 years old. I am scared. Anything can happen to me. I am not a stone-pelter.”
Dar told The Wire: “They damaged my bike, thrashed me severely with gun butts and wooden sticks and in an almost unconscious state tied me to the front of the jeep and paraded me through 10 to 20 villages.”
With inputs from agencies
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