Police say civilian killed in ‘cross-firing' in Kashmir

A civilian was killed in "cross-firing" after militants attacked CRPF personnel in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said.

The incident evoked strong reactions from mainstream political parties in the Valley, which demanded a probe into it.

The civilian killed has been identified as Shahid Ahmad.

"Around 1030 hrs, unidentified terrorists attacked a naka party of 178 Bn CRPF at Babapora, Shopian," police said.

They said the CRPF retaliated the fire and during "cross-firing" one person was killed.

Further details are being ascertained, they added.

Taking to Twitter, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said the policy of "shoot first" will further alienate people.

"He was shot dead & his bag has no weapons or explosives, he's carrying fruit & vegetables. This policy of "shoot first" will further alienate people. This is no way to make friends with the people or the youth of Kashmir," Omar said. He was referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Saturday that he wanted to make friends with the youth of Kashmir.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said it was sad that the armed forces "operate with such impunity" in Kashmir.

"Another innocent civilian killed allegedly by CRPF in Shopian today. It's sad that armed forces show little restraint & operate with such impunity. My heartfelt condolences to his family," she wrote on Twitter.

Condemning the killing of the civilian, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami asked the authorities to probe the incident thoroughly to fix the responsibility.

"The circumstances in which the civilian was shot dead needs to be probed. Losing precious human life is unfortunate and mere condemnation of such heinous incidents isn't enough," Tarigami said in a statement.

He also demanded compensation to the victim's family.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)