Protests mount over Sopore killings
Srinagar: People in the Kashmir valley have come out to protest the indifference shown by the government and separatist leaders over the murder of two sisters by militants four days ago even as the separatists have called for a shutdown in Sopore on Friday.
Four days after two the sisters were gunned down by militants for allegedly being police informants in Sopore, locals held a sit-in at a Srinagar park and demanded greater security for women.
Though the public response to the gruesome killings was feeble initially, more and more people have now come out to protest.
"Women are not safe here. The government should investigate the matter. No one was held accountable for Shopian and now this Sopore incident. We want government to find out the truth," said Sanaa, a protestor.
Teenagers Akthar and Arifa were killed on Monday evening allegedly by Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, two of whom police claim to have identified.
Though it was made out that the girls were killed on the suspicion of being informants, investigations now reveal it may be a case of moral policing - to instill fear in the area where of-late the militants have suffered reverses due to improved security networking.
"Certainly the killings were done to create an aura of fear among the people," said Altaf Ahmad, SP Sopore.
While the separatist bandwagon and the Lashkar-e-Toiba have condemned the killings and squarely blamed it on government forces, the protestors were not convinced and have slammed both the government and separatists for being indifferent to the murders.
"We want to know who killed the girls, why are the Hurriyat leaders silent over it? What has government done to bring the culprits to justice?" asked Mukhtar Ahmad, a protestor.
And they want the answers very quickly.
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