SHRC seeks response to plea alleging chemical weapon use in B’pora encounter 

Srinagar, Sep 28: The State Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to Deputy Commissioner Bandipora and Senior Superintendent of Police of the northern Kashmir district, seeking a response to a petition alleging use of chemical weapons by government forces against the five militants killed earlier this week in the district.

Chairperson of the SHRC, Justice (Retd) Bilal Ahmad Nazki, issued the notice returnable by November 16, said petitioner Ahsan Untoo, chairman of International Forum For Justice Human Rights JK.

In his petition, Untoo says that there are reports of chemical weapons use by the forces during an encounter in which five militants were killed at Bandipora earlier this month.

The petitioner has sought a detailed probe, saying the bodies of five young militants were blown up into pieces and couldn’t be recognized.

The deputy commissioner Bandipora has already stated that if required DNA samples of the all the slain militants would be taken in the wake of claims of six families that their kin were killed in the encounter. While the army claimed that all the five militants killed were foreigners, the Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit said that the slain were locals and revealed their identity as Hyder Ali from Brazul Kulgam, Muhamamd Umar from Shopian, Muhammad Sidiq from Bandipora, Mawiya from Kangana and Usman from Lolab. Some of the families have already filed petitions, seeking mortal remains of their kin for burial at their respective native villages.

“Use of any sort of chemical against killing any human is a grave war crime and has been banned by the world community,” he says.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)