Srinagar cop lynching: How did prominent people react?

Even though he was entitled two security guards, Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mohammed Ayub Pandith went to offer his prayers on Thursday night—which coincided with auspicious Shab-e-Qadar—all alone in the mosque, where someone in the crowd saw the pistol he carried.

“He was then called outside by some men and asked to show his identity card. He hesitated and allegedly opened fire to disperse the mob which led to three men getting hurt. At this, a large crowd of men started pushing and beating the police officer, leading to his death,” says a report carried by India Today, which quotes aggrieved family members blaming security lapses.

Srinagar-based journalist Mufti Islah wrote on Twitter that the pistol was snatched from the DSP after he fired in self-defence:

Describing the brutal lynching as shameful, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday dubbed the incident as “murder of trust” in Kashmir Valley. She warned protesters against abusing police restraint.

“Our police is one of the best police forces in the country, exercising maximum restraint because they feel it’s our own people they are dealing with on ground,” Mehbooba Mufti said. “But if you respond to police restraint in this way, if this goes on, things may well go back to how they were, when people would run just upon seeing a (police) jeep on the road.”

Jammu and Kashmir Police Chief SP Vaid said, "We have arrested two persons, a third one has been identified. The rest of the guilty will face the law too.”

“An investigation is going on but initial reports suggest that some miscreants who were shouting slogans caught hold of the DSP while he was coming out of the mosque after inspecting access control. They started beating him and lynched him,” said Vaid. When asked about the firearm injuries to three civilians, Vaid said that the officer had a pistol on him. “He had the right to self-defence,” said Vaid.

The battered body of slain DSP Mohammad Ayub Pandit was recovered on Friday morning outside the Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of the Srinagar’s Old City, the very spot where he was set upon by a mob the night before.

The incident has evoked strong reactions from mainstream politicians to separatists. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the killing as a tragedy and the manner of his death a travesty.

Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq wrote on Twitter that “mob violence and public lynching is outside the parameters of our values and religion.”

Sanjiv Bhatt tweeted,

National Conference’s spokesperson, Junaid Azim Mattu, tweeted,

Noted Kashmiri author Mirza Waheed described the incident as “incredibly tragic, reprehensible.” Categorising an entire people, whether in India or in Kashmir, as barbaric is problematic, he wrote on Twitter.

“If the mob was suspicious about the identity of that person, then they should have informed the police instead of taking the law into their hands. Such thing is against both Islam and humanity,” said Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad.

“The brutal lynching of Deputy SP Md Ayub Pandit marks a new low. Pained beyond words at the horrific incident,” said Rahul Gandhi on his official Twitter account. He added,