By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: The killing of reportedly two Keralite Muslims in an encounter in Kashmir last week has added a new dimension to the militancy in the Valley as well as its relation with the Muslims from the mainland.
While the police said they were killed while trying to cross the border, what was their motive – to be part of Kashmir militancy or to get training for some terrorist activities in other parts of India – is not clear. Meanwhile some sections in Kerala have raised questions over the police version of the encounter.
“We are concerned that two persons (from Kerala) have been killed though the Kerala police have not identified any organization to which they belonged to,” E. M. Abdul Rahiman, general secretary of Popular Front of India, told TwoCircles.net from Bangalore.
But he is not ready to completely accept the Kashmir Police version about the incident.
“In the present situation in the country, we cannot accept fully what the police say. Nobody except police has seen the bodies, so it is not clear if they were killed in encounter or fake encounter,” Rahiman said adding that the police have not made public the postmortem report either.
But the parents of slain suspected terrorists have said they do not want the bodies. Doesn’t it mean they have admitted the youths were involved in terrorism and wanted to cross the border?
“We don’t know in which circumstances the parents took such stand. The police had called the parents and discussed the matter. We don’t know what transpired. They may have difficulty in going there and bringing back the bodies,” Rahiman told TCN.
He further said that a section of local media has also raised questions over the encounter. How they went there, who brought them there and how they were killed are the questions raised by the media.
Abdul Jaleel, member of the National Development Front which is a part of Popular Front of India, has been arrested by the police for having received calls from the slain suspected terrorists.
Taking the issue seriously National Development Front has suspended the man and constituted an enquiry. This organization has 30,000 members in Kerala. It is not possible to have an eye on every member, Rahiman said adding that mere receiving calls cannot make one guilty and the police have also admitted that besides the call Jaleel is not involved in the case.
Rahiman also pointed to another issue – the possibility that some secret agencies might have infiltrated some Muslim organizations to misuse them or misguide them when asked to comment on possibility of existence of some Islamic extremists in the state.
Whatever may be the truth, the killing of Keralite Muslims in an encounter in Kashmir is an important issue and so should be seriously dealt with.