Shopian killings: Centre files fresh plea in SC, seeks quashing of FIR against Major Aditya
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday filed a fresh plea in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking the quashing of an FIR that named an Army officer in a firing case in which three civilians were killed in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
Aishwarya Bhati, the lawyer for Major Aditya’s father Lt Col Karamveer Singh told a New Delhi based news gathering agency that the Union government has moved an application to quash the FIR registered against Major Aditya in connection with the Shopian firing incident case.
Lt. Col. Karamveer Singh had approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the FIR against his son and other Army personnel on February 8.
Hearing the petition, the apex court had on Monday stayed the investigation by the J&K police into an FIR on the Shopian firing involving Major Aditya Kumar, after the counsel appearing for the state clarified that the FIR did not name the major an accused.
However, the Major’s name does feature in the FIR – although not in the accused column – where he’s referred to as the officer leading a convoy that fired at a stone-pelting mob in Shopian. That’s the reason for today’s fresh plea by the Centre in the Supreme Court.
“He (Major Aditya) has not been named as accused in the FIR. The column of the accused in the FIR is left blank. His name also does not feature in the case diary as of now. He is just been named on the basis of allegation that he led the convoy which had opened fired on retaliation. There is no specific allegation against him,” the advocate appearing for Jammu and Kashmir had said in a hearing on the earlier plea on Monday.
Earlier, the Union government said that the Army opened fire in Ganovpora area in Shopian district in ‘self-defense’. Three civilians were killed on January 27 this year after army opened fire on civilians in Ganovpora village of Shopian district.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir had said, “On January 27, an Army convoy came under heavy stone pelting at village Ganovpora village in Shopian district. Army personnel exercised restraint and gave repeated warnings to the mob before opening fire in self-defense.”
He informed the Upper House on Tuesday that three persons lost their lives and one person got injured in the incident.
The MoS said that an FIR stands registered in police station Shopian.
KV Correspondent
