JAMMU: A magisterial inquiry was ordered into the killing of a man by the security guards minutes after he entered inside the residence of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday.
According to PTI, the magisterial probe was ordered by the District Development Commissioner (Jammu), Ramesh Kumar after family members, relatives and the local residents staged a massive protest over the killing of slain man, Syeed Murfad Shah.
"Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Jammu North, will conduct the probe and submit his report within four weeks," Ramesh Kumar said.
Shah met an untimely death just a month ahead of 26th birthday.
Meanwhile, the Abdullah's son Omar and his party National Conference (NC) demanded a high level probe into the incident. The party pressed for a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
"As Abdullah is a central government categorised protectee, the Government of India should carry out an independent and impartial inquiry by a team deputed by the Ministry of Home Affairs," NC provincial spokesperson Madan Mantoo said in a statement.
Expressing grave concern over the incident, the spokesperson said the probe must cover all aspects, including how a car was able to gain entry into the supposedly highly secured residence with minimum cosmetic damage, considering the strength of the main gate.
"The security lapse is needed to be probed expeditiously so that the truth comes to the fore," he added.
Following noisy protests by the relatives of the deceased, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP too demanded that an impartial and prompt investigation be conducted into the incident and CCTV footage released.
"BJP demands an impartial and prompt enquiry into the matter of fake encounter. To set at rest the apprehensions of the members of the family of deceased, the CCTV footage should be released to the media by police immediately," BJP state spokesperson Anil Gupta said in a statement here.
He said the "cold-blooded" murder in a VIP residence raises many questions.
"The family of the deceased is calling the incident a fake encounter and insists that their son was called by somebody to the residence of the former chief minister," he said.
Gupta said, quoting friends of the deceased, that the youth was not a drug addict, as was being alleged by some.
In a major security breach on Saturday morning, the man rammed his car into the front gate of the residence of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, and vandalised the house before being shot dead by the CRPF personnel guarding the premises, police said.
Both Farooq and Omar Abdullah, who are Z-plus protectees, were inside the house when the incident took place.
(With PTI inputs)
