Two policemen arrested in the death of teenager

Janjivan Bureau
Kashmir: An assistant superintendent of police and a constable of Jammu and Kashmir police were arrested in Kashmir after they allegedly fired and killed a teenager. The family of the class 9 student, identified as Suhail Ahmad Bhat, claimed that a police team chased the teenager into a lane and shot him at close range.Tension ran high in the valley on the second day of protests against the arrest of separatist leader Masarat Alam. Director general of police K Rajindra, late on Saturday evening,  confirmed the arrest.
The teenager was killed in the in the Narbal area of north Kashmir where protesters pelted stones on security forces during a shutdown called by hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani against the arrest of Alam for allegedly hoisting a Pakistani flag at a Srinagar rally on Wednesday.
The state government has also ordered a magisterial probe into the killing of the youth.
The victim’s family said a police party chased Suhail Ahmad Bhat into a lane and shot him at close range.
Earlier in the day, police expressed regret at the death of the boy and also registered a murder case to soothe frayed tempers across the valley.
The DGP also said the “incident is being investigated and action would be taken against those guilty”. “We have registered a murder case and are investigating the matter. We admit SOP was violated and want to assure people that we have zero tolerance for such incidents and those responsible would be punished,” he said.
Police said the security forces had violated the standard operating procedure (SOP) that mandates personnel should use non-lethal weapons for crowd control. The SOP restrains security forces from using live ammunition against protestors.
In a statement, police said, “We regret the unfortunate incident and extend our sympathies to the bereaved family.”
This was the second incident within a week of action by security forces raising questions. Earlier this week, a youngster named Khalid Wani was killed in an encounter between the army and militants. Wani was the brother of an active militant named Burhan, who had gone to meet him with three more youngsters.
Massive protests erupted across the Kashmir Valley on Friday after Alam was arrested on sedition charges, and demonstrators burnt the national flag and fought pitched battles with security forces. Around two dozen people were injured in clashes.