By IANS,
Srinagar : A case was registered against troopers of the Rashtriya Rifles for a shootout in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore town Saturday that killed two civilians. The town remained tense Sunday as authorities imposed strict restrictions to prevent protests, officials said.
“An FIR has been lodged in the Sopore police station against troopers of 22 Rashtriya Rifles allegedly involved in the unprovoked firing on a group of youth in which two were killed and another critically wounded,” a police officer said here.
Heavy deployment of police and paramilitary central reserve police force (CRPF) was made in Sopore, 50 km from here, in the wake of the indiscriminate firing by unidentified assailants in army uniforms.
“There are strict curfew-like restrictions throughout Sopore and our movement is being disallowed,” Gulam Muhammad, a resident of Sopore, told IANS over telephone.
Protests, meanwhile, continued in Bumai village on the outskirts of Sopore town where the shooting incident took place Saturday. Hundreds of angry mourners shouted slogans against the army during the burial of one of the slain youth.
Locals had alleged that several youth were returning from a Sufi shrine when personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles fired upon them without any reason.
“The situation is tense, but under control. Those responsible for the unfortunate shooting incident would be brought to book,” a police official said.
A magisterial enquiry has been ordered into the firing incident and will be carried out by the the sub-divisional magistrate of Sopore within a fortnight, officials said.