Brutal ways lead to brutal reactions: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Mohammed Ayub Pandith's lynching

Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said that he was deeply disturbed by the brutal act in which Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) Mohammed Ayub Pandith was lynched to death by a mob, adding he was not present inside the mosque at the time of the incident.

'The media is reporting falsely that when the incident happened, I was present inside the mosque. I reached the mosque at 12.15 a.m., while the incident had happened before that,' he said in a press release.

'The incident that happened in Nowhatta outside the Jamia Masjid is the most unfortunate. I am deeply disturbed by this brutal act. Mob violence and public lynching is outside the parameters of our values and religion,' he said.

Mirwaiz also stated that what the state of Jammu and Kashmir has wreaked on them was largely responsible for this kind of brutalisation. Mirwaiz said that the violence that the state has wreaked on us is largely responsible for this kind of brutalisation, as the police are being used against the people in the most brutal ways which leads to brutal reactions.

He repeatedly said that they had been asking the Indian state to address the Kashmir dispute and initiate steps to resolve it, so that the bloodshed of Kashmiris and those killed at the LoC is stopped, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh on Friday stated the brutal lynching of Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mohammed Ayub Pandith by a mob, was an ‘irreligious act in the name of religion’.

‘Irreligious act in name of religion. Most unholy act in holy month of Ramzan. Lynching a fellow being,’ he tweeted. Echoing similar sentiments, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti warned the people of the state to not test the patience of the security forces, who use restraint in dealing with locals.

The Jammu and Kashmir BJP also condemned the lynching of a police officer outside the Jama Masjid in downtown Srinagar, claiming he was killed by the people he was protecting.

"Henchmen of a few people derive sadistic pleasure by lynching and killing people just to appease their bosses sitting across the Line of Control (LoC)," state BJP spokesman Khalid Jehangir said.

Hitting out at separatist leaders, he said, "The lynching of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Deputy SP) Mohammad Ayub Pandit is heart rendering. He was killed by the same people he protected."

Last night, Pandith was lynched to death by a violent mob in downtown Srinagar.

The deceased DSP was on surveillance and was allegedly clicking pictures of people emerging from the Jamia Masjid mosque, when a mob attacked him.

After the situation became out of control, the cop in his own defence open fire through his service pistol on the mob, in which three people got injured.

The angry mob then proceeded to attack him more severely and ended up taking his life.

Police have recovered the body of deceased and are investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said two people have been arrested and a third person has been identified in connection with the lynching.

"Two people have been arrested so far in this incident and third one has been identified. The rest culprits will also have to face the law. According to the reports, when he was coming out of the mosque, people started raising slogans and started hitting him resulting in his death," Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police S. P. Vaid told media here.

He added that the DSP was posted outside the mosque for the security of the people so that they could offer prayers without any hindrance.

"A few people who were standing outside the mosque lynched him. This is a very unfortunate act. There seems to be a sheer difference between humanity and cruelty. People need to understand what is wrong. Further investigation is underway," Vaid said.