Anger, grief in Kashmir over civilian killing in Army firing

"The Budgam incident in the Kashmir Valley is highly regrettable. A fair enquiry will be held and action taken against those found guilty," tweeted Jaitley even as Kashmir expressed anger on the streets over the firing and deaths.

In an open firing on a private vehicle, the army killed two civilians while two others were injured after at Chatergam area in central Kashmir's Budgam district  late evening of  Monday.

Official sources said that soldiers of 53 RR tried  to stop the vehicle during a night patrolling at the Main Market of Chatergam. However, the vehicle didn't stop and sped away, prompting the Army to open fire.

In the incident, four occupants of the car sustained critical bullet injuries, sources said, adding that "all the injured were taken to army's 92 base hospital here in Srinagar for treatment."

However, two of them identified as Faizal Mohammad and Mehraj-ud-Din Dar, residents of Nowgam, were pronounced dead on arrival.

While the two injured Shakir Ahmad Bhat  and Zahid Ahmad Naqash  were operated by the doctors at the army hospital. All of them were youths.

It is alleged that the firing was unprovoked though the Army said it was forced to fire after the vehicle did not stop at check points.

Soon after the firing the stone-pelting clashes  broke out at Nowgam and its adjoining area, reports said, adding that forces used tear gas shells and opened few shots in air to disperse the protesting youth.

The local police station of the Budgam earlier also registered an FIR.

Meanwhile, Army's Srinagar based defense ministry spokesman in a statement issued here last evening said that based on the specific intelligence reports about the movement of militants in a white Maruti 800 Car Monday evening along Nowgam to Pulwama road, three Mobile Vehicle Check Posts (MVCP) were established along the road.

They further said that a white Maruti 800 Car approached the first check point when the personnel tried to stop the car but it did not stop. Again at the second check point, the vehicle was intercepted but it sped away and finally at the third check point, the vehicle tried to barge through the check point, resulting into a firing incident.

He said that the injured were rushed to the Army Base Hospital, Srinagar. Two persons succumbed to their injuries and two are under treatment.

He said that army regrets the loss of lives and has ordered an inquiry to investigate into the circumstance leading to the incident. Anyone found guilty will be severely dealt with.

(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)