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Bijbehara massacre: Guilty yet to be punished even after 19 years
SRINAGAR, Oct 21: Nineteen years have passed since the infamous massacre by BSF personnel in Bijbehara. The security men involved into the killings and indicted by the magisterial inquiry are yet to be punished.
Forty three persons were killed in the massacre and more than 150 injured. The incident occurred on October 22, 1993 when the BSF men of 74th battalion resorted to indiscriminate firing on the procession protesting against the Hazratbal shrine siege. Among the dead more than 20 were students.
Recalling the incident, Abid Hussain, who was injured in the firing said, It was Friday and people after offering prayers in different mosques of the town assembled outside Jamia Masjid. They took out a procession from there. It was a procession of atleast 15, 000 people demanding an end to the siege of Hazrabal shrine by the army.
He added that as the procession reached near Jablipora crossing on Srinagar-Jammu highway, the BSF men, who were already deployed there started indiscriminate firing on procession without any provocation. Atleast 30 persons died on the spot and 13 others succumbed to injuries on way to hospital or in the hospital taking the death toll to 43. Over 150 persons were injured in the massacre out of whom many were rendered permanently disabled due to the grave injuries, Abid said.
The eye witness said the BSF men opened fire from close range on the procession.The firing continued for atleast 10 minutes. The security men did not even allow the people to take the injured to hospital for
nearly half-an-hour. They opened fire on every one who tried to rescue the injured, Abid said.
He added that lives of many injured could have been saved had the BSF allowed the people to take them to hospital immediately.Even the women who rushed to the spot to look for their near and dear ones were not spared, Abid said.
Another eyewitness, Sajad Ahmad, alleged that the massacre was planned as security men were unhappy with a militancy related incident, which had occurred weeks before the mass killings. Couple of weeks before the massacre, a local militant had snatched a rifle from a BSF man. The security men wanted to take revenge and when the procession reached near them, they fired ruthlessly, he said.
Sajad said he had received three bullets on his leg, arm and hand. On seeing a young boy lying in a pool of blood besides me, I without bothering about my own life tried to cover his eyes. On seeing me doing so, BSF men again fired a bullet on me, he said.
After the massacre, the state government ordered magisterial inquiry into the incident and on the basis of the inquiry report removed the BSF post which carried out the massacre. The inquiry team in its report submitted to the government on November 13, 1993 indicted 14 BSF personnel for carrying out the massacre out of vengeance. Firing on the procession was totally unprovoked. Claim of the BSF that they were forced to retaliate to the firing of militants for self defense was baseless and concocted. The security men have committed the offence out of vengeance and their act was deliberate and well planned, said the inquiry report. The report also indicted Deputy commandant of BSF for his approval to the indiscriminate and unprovoked firing on procession and recommended immediate dismissal of all the 14 personnel.
The dismissal of the personal involved should be followed by the initiation of criminal proceedings against them and maximum possible punishment be awarded to them, the report recommended.
National human rights commission (NHRC) also passed orders of action against BSF. After the NHRC recommendation, 13 BSF men were charged with murder but the subsequent general security force court trial led to their acquittal
An eyewitness, who was summoned by the BSF to attend the trial said that during the proceedings in the court of BSF, they were being subjected to torture.
SRINAGAR, Oct 21: Nineteen years have passed since the infamous massacre by BSF personnel in Bijbehara. The security men involved into the killings and indicted by the magisterial inquiry are yet to be punished.
Forty three persons were killed in the massacre and more than 150 injured. The incident occurred on October 22, 1993 when the BSF men of 74th battalion resorted to indiscriminate firing on the procession protesting against the Hazratbal shrine siege. Among the dead more than 20 were students.
Recalling the incident, Abid Hussain, who was injured in the firing said, It was Friday and people after offering prayers in different mosques of the town assembled outside Jamia Masjid. They took out a procession from there. It was a procession of atleast 15, 000 people demanding an end to the siege of Hazrabal shrine by the army.
He added that as the procession reached near Jablipora crossing on Srinagar-Jammu highway, the BSF men, who were already deployed there started indiscriminate firing on procession without any provocation. Atleast 30 persons died on the spot and 13 others succumbed to injuries on way to hospital or in the hospital taking the death toll to 43. Over 150 persons were injured in the massacre out of whom many were rendered permanently disabled due to the grave injuries, Abid said.
The eye witness said the BSF men opened fire from close range on the procession.The firing continued for atleast 10 minutes. The security men did not even allow the people to take the injured to hospital for
nearly half-an-hour. They opened fire on every one who tried to rescue the injured, Abid said.
He added that lives of many injured could have been saved had the BSF allowed the people to take them to hospital immediately.Even the women who rushed to the spot to look for their near and dear ones were not spared, Abid said.
Another eyewitness, Sajad Ahmad, alleged that the massacre was planned as security men were unhappy with a militancy related incident, which had occurred weeks before the mass killings. Couple of weeks before the massacre, a local militant had snatched a rifle from a BSF man. The security men wanted to take revenge and when the procession reached near them, they fired ruthlessly, he said.
Sajad said he had received three bullets on his leg, arm and hand. On seeing a young boy lying in a pool of blood besides me, I without bothering about my own life tried to cover his eyes. On seeing me doing so, BSF men again fired a bullet on me, he said.
After the massacre, the state government ordered magisterial inquiry into the incident and on the basis of the inquiry report removed the BSF post which carried out the massacre. The inquiry team in its report submitted to the government on November 13, 1993 indicted 14 BSF personnel for carrying out the massacre out of vengeance. Firing on the procession was totally unprovoked. Claim of the BSF that they were forced to retaliate to the firing of militants for self defense was baseless and concocted. The security men have committed the offence out of vengeance and their act was deliberate and well planned, said the inquiry report. The report also indicted Deputy commandant of BSF for his approval to the indiscriminate and unprovoked firing on procession and recommended immediate dismissal of all the 14 personnel.
The dismissal of the personal involved should be followed by the initiation of criminal proceedings against them and maximum possible punishment be awarded to them, the report recommended.
National human rights commission (NHRC) also passed orders of action against BSF. After the NHRC recommendation, 13 BSF men were charged with murder but the subsequent general security force court trial led to their acquittal
An eyewitness, who was summoned by the BSF to attend the trial said that during the proceedings in the court of BSF, they were being subjected to torture.
