By Ayaskant Das
New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) The recent killings of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir is suspected by security agencies to be the handiwork of "fringe elements" in the valley.
Five civilians have lost their lives due to violence in the valley since August 5 when India withdrew special status for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior Indian Army officials told IANS on Wednesday that the "fringe elements" generally comprise men in the age group of 17 to 25 years who have been indulging in violence like stone pelting and protests in the valley.
Two nomads belonging to the Bakarwal nomadic tribe, Abdul Qadir Kohli and Manzoor Ahmad Kohli, were abducted on the intervening night of August 18 and 19 from the Tral area in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Their bullet-ridden bodies were found from Litchinag and Lachi Top Behak forest areas of Tral within the space of a few days.
A lorry driver, Noor Mohammed Dar (42), was killed by stone pelters in the Bijbehara area in Anantnag district on August 25. A mob had pelted stones at Dar's truck mistaking it for a security vehicle.
On August 29, unidentified gunmen killed a 65-year-old shopkeeper Ghulam Mohammed in Parimpora area of Srinagar allegedly for carrying on with trading despite a shutdown notice issued by militants.
Another civilian, Asrar Ahmad Khan, who was hit by a stone on August 6 and was admitted to a hospital in Soura, Srinagar, succumbed to his injuries on September 4.
"The killings seem to be the handiwork of fringe elements in the valley. These fringe elements are young men in the age group of 17 to 25 years. They have been indulging in stray incidents of stone pelting and protests in the valley. These fringe elements may not necessarily owe their immediate allegiance to any particular terror group," a senior official told IANS.
Army sources said the civilian killings are evident of a new trend amongst stone pelters and protesters to indulge in killing of civilians without necessarily joining terror groups. This provides them with the leeway to indulge in terror incidents because they remain outside the radar of security and intelligence agencies, said an official.
"Once young men join terror groups, they immediately come under the radar of security and intelligence agencies. In the past, security agencies have been successful in neutralising new recruits in terror groups. This has also brought down the average age of militants recruited locally in the valley," said the official.
Security agencies said in addition to the violence by fringe elements, there have been attempts by militant groups at prohibiting the return of normalcy to the valley.
Posters threatening locals against venturing out into the streets, plying private vehicles and trading in shops have been recovered by security agencies from various parts of the valley. These posters had purportedly been put up by the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Hizbul Mujaheedin.
The valley has been under an unprecedented security cover for the past one month after the Parliament decided to do away with special status for Jammu and Kashmir.
(Ayaskant Das can be contacted at ayaskant.d@ians.in)
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