Tangmarg carnage
Police chasing Sofi, Kamal calls for judicial probe
SYED BASHARAT
SRINAGAR, Sep 14: Police has launched a man hunt for a mainstream
political worker Ali Mohammad Sofi alias Ali Kandur who according to
it instigated the mob to set ablaze the government offices at
Tangmarg yesterday.
Meanwhile, ruling National Conference senior leader and MLA, Dr Sheikh Mustafa
Kamal, today demanded a judicial probe into the Tangmarg incident,
terming it a “wider conspiracy”.
According to reliable sources, the police at Tangmarg has registered
an FIR number 91 against Sofi under section 436, 307, 352, 336, 427,
148 and 149 CrPC. The sources said that in view of Sofi’s activities,
police was chasing him just after Eid prayers on September 11. “He had
provoked masses at Baba Reshi mosque on Eid day. Later he addressed
the gathering at Tangmarg bus stand wherein he incited people to go
on rampage,” said a senior police officer pleading anonymity.
Meanwhile, the affiliation of Sofi with mainstream political parties
has started brewing up controversies among the two veteran political
leaders of the area—Ghulam Hassan Mir, the agriculture minister and
the National Conference leader and MLA Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal.
Kamal while talking to Kashmir Times demanded a judicial probe into
the Tangmarg incident saying that he smells a *** in the tragedy that
has struck his area. “The reports about Sofi’s affiliation with
National Conference are unfortunate as he left the party in 1990.
I have not seen him even in a single party meeting after 1990. He has
never been with me in any of the elections that I fought after 1990,”
Kamal said.
He added that Sofi was an active member of National Conference in 1977
but for his negative role to defame the party he was imprisoned on the
orders of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who had earlier
made Sofi a member of District Development Board Baramulla.
“He is reported to have had profitable relationship with some militant
organisations in the area. Besides that he is subtly working with
Ghulam Hassan Mir the agriculture minister while giving impression
that he is from the National Conference. If he was an NC worker, why
would he set ablaze government offices, incite people to go on
rampage? Even I have heard that during the present unrest some people
have been allotted illegal land in Gulmarag where they are on with
some illegal contractions. So that is why the Tehsil building in
Tangmarag was set on fire. I smell a *** in this entire episode,”
Kamal, who is the uncle of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told Kashmir
Times.
Kamal added that from the media reports about the alleged affiliations
of Sofi with him, some “vested interests” are trying to exploit his
close relation with the Chief Minister to give an impression that
National Conference is internally a divided a lot. “See Ghulam Hassan
Mir has come through proxy.
One of his statements that only his
constituency Tangmarag has remained peaceful in the last three months
has invited the attention forces inimical to peace to destroy this
tourist resort. That is what the general impression is. Even my
information is that police resorted to firing on the people and later
allowed them to run riot in order to have some justification for their
unwanted action,” the NC leader observed.
Omar’s uncle while demanding a judicial probe into the incident said
that some vested interests are trying to put NC in bad light and it
could be a wider conspiracy which involves people other than the local
characters.
On the other hand the agriculture minister Ghulam Hassan Mir while
talking to Kashmir Times, admitted that Sofi was working with him but
since his involvement with the formation of Peoples Democratic Party
in 1997-98 Sofi left him and returned to National Conference where he
once held the position of a Block President. “He was working with me
from 1990 t0 1997. Then he returned to NC,” Mir added.
The SHO police station Tangmarg Nisar Ahmad when contacted said that
Sofi has dismal track record. “For the last three days we have been
tracking him. He first incited the people at Baba Reshi mosque on Eid
on September 11. Later he mobilised people from adjoining areas of
Tangmarg and instigated them to go on rampage. We are hunting him and
we may arrest him soon,” said the SHO Tangmarag. When asked about his
association with NC, he said that Sofi has been working with the NC
but had left it some time back.
Meanwhile people in Tangmarg said that Sofi, a resident of Hariwatnoo
Tangamarg (the residence of agriculture minister Ghulam Hassan Mir)
has been associated with Congress, National Conference and Ghulam
Hassan Mir in the past. “He has changed his association with different
political parties from time to time but yesterday, I too was present
in the rally at Tangmarg which turned into a nightmare, Sofi didn’t
utter a word which could have incited people to go berserk and brunt
down government buildings. This is all lie,” said a local from
Tangmarag over phone.
Tangmarag was the worst affected place in valley on yesterday, where
six killings occurred and over 70 others were injured allegedly in
security forces firing when thousands of people raising anti-American
slogans against the desecration of holy Quran tried to march towards
Kunzar Tangmarg to hold demonstration.