Jammu, April 3 J&K Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary on Saturday said that while militancy must be firmly dealt with, care should be taken that innocent people are not harmed, asserting that any such incidents warrant a proper inquiry.
The deputy chief minister was reacting to the probe ordered by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha into the Ganderbal encounter.
The J&K Assembly witnessed uproar on the final day of the Budget session on Saturday, with members of the National Conference (NC), the Congress and the PDP demanding a judicial probe into the March 31 encounter that took place in Arhama forests in Ganderbal district.
The Army has claimed that the man killed in the encounter -- identified as Ganderbal resident Rashid Ahmad Mughal -- was a terrorist. However, his family alleged that he had no terror links and termed the encounter fake, while demanding the return of his body for proper burial.
"Action must be taken, and such incidents should not be repeated. It is true that Jammu and Kashmir has been battling militancy for the past 36 years, and militancy must be curbed—there is no place for militancy either in Jammu and Kashmir or anywhere in India", he told reporters outside the Assembly.
He, however, said that innocent people must not be killed. "Strict action should be taken against militancy, but innocent persons should not be targeted. In such cases, an inquiry must be ensured," he said.
The deputy CM, however, added that since the LG has ordered an inquiry into the encounter, one should wait for the report and "if anything is found to be wrong or fake, then strict action must be taken against those responsible."
The NC leader said that the Omar Abdullah government has been elected by the people with a mandate to fulfil promises made during elections. "We are accountable to the people and are committed to delivering on our commitments," he said.
Hitting out at the opposition, he said that they should answer questions regarding the restoration of statehood to J&K and issues related to land and jobs. "The opposition should explain why the promises they made, including early restoration of statehood, have not been fulfilled. Instead of criticising the government daily, they must answer to the people," he added.