PROTESTS CONTINUE OVER TOSAMAIDAN KILLING SRINAGAR: Hundreds of people took to the streets at Khag in Jammu & Kashmirs Budgam district on Thursday demanding action against an Army unit allegedly responsible for a seven-year-old girls death. Simran Reyaz had died and her brother (5) lost his legs when an unexploded shell went off near the Armys contentious Tosa Maidan artillery firing range. Tehsildar Mohammad Shafi said the police have lodged an FIR against unknown forces till the investigations are completed. We inspected the spot and talked to people there. We will send the pieces of littered shell to a forensic lab and start investigation once we receive the report, he said. Shafi said an FIR copy was given to the protesters, who later dispersed peacefully. An Army spokesman maintained the Army had nothing to do with the death. But Tosa Maidan Bachao Front-led protesters rejected this as a blatant lie and an insult to the bereaved family. They demanded a combing operation in the area to clear all littered shells. State Human Rights Commission separately took cognizance of the explosion on Wednesday and served notices to Jammu & Kashmir police chief, Budgam deputy commissioner and the Army unit that had carried out drills in Tosa Maidan. The fresh death near Tosa Maidan has intensified debate over the 800 acre artillery firing range that was leased out to the Army in 1964. The government refused to extend the lease last month as the issue was threatening to become another flash point. But activists maintain the Army continues to carry out daily exercises at the site.
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 15:18:16 +0000
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