Why wasn’t foolproof security ensured at slain PDP leader’s house?

Tribune News Service

That a “mob” could set ablaze the house of former sarpanch and ruling PDP leader Mohammad Ramzan on Tuesday, a day after he was assassinated at his home in Shopian village and after the residents had killed a militant in retaliation, is a classic example of the failure of the law-enforcement agencies, particularly the state police and the ruling leadership.

After this, any sensible and responsible law-enforcing agency should have provided foolproof security to the family and the house. Neither was done.

It is incomprehensible that after all these happenings last evening, the security agencies could leave the family and the house of the slain PDP sarpanch unprotected. This defies logic.

There were more than one reasons to have anticipated an attack on the slain PDP leader’s house: first, the former sarpanch was a political worker; second, he was from the PDP, the ruling party of the state, his killing was a direct challenge to the ruling leadership; third, his family and relatives had pounced upon the attackers and killed one of the militants identified as Hizbul Mujahideen’s Showkat Falali – a rarity in Kashmir where people live in fear of terrorists.

All these were sufficient grounds for the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti government and the police that work under her as she is the Home Minister as well, to put preventive measures in place. This was not done.

The way the people set ablaze the house, it is evident that there was no security in place, and even if it was, it was breached with ease. Therefore, the claims that the police were alert and still the incident happened are absolutely hollow.

“This has the potential to demoralise the political workers across the Valley, particularly those of the PDP,” bemoaned a PDP legislator who did not want to be named. “How will we face our workers? It is sheer incompetence and negligence on the part of the system,” he observed. The incident has sent shock waves and made militants look invincible with their deaths being avenged even on civilians.