Thread by @comradarjun

SOPORE KILLINGS 1993 (thread)
We all saw yesterday the photo of a helpless child sitting on his dead grandfather’s chest in Sopore, North Kashmir. Yes it’s heart breaking, let us revisit the history of Sopore taking you 27 years back, please stay with me 1/13

On January 6, 1993 unidentified militants killed a BSF personnel at Sopore’s main market, snatched his service rifle & escaped. An hour later, a group of irate BSF personnel turned up in the market, firing indiscriminately & sprinkling kerosene & gun powder on shops & houses 2/13

This is the story of Sopore’s infamous massacre which left 57 civilians dead and more than 400 shops and houses razed in just five hours. 3/13

Twenty seven years down the file pertaining to the massacre is lying with the (CBI) and no one has been found guilty or punished. But in apple town Sopore, memories of the massacre are still afresh. 4/13

In the FIR report it says the BSF personnel opened fire on innocent civilians without any provocation. The complainant in his report termed this massacre as planned with a motto to teach a “lesson of revenge” to the residents of Sopore. 5/13

In defence, the BSF lodged a counter FIR against the unidentified militants. The report further says the militants hiding in houses opened fire on troops and the forces retaliated in self-defence. In the cross-fire, a number of people were killed. 6/13

To pacify an angry Kashmir, a CBI investigation was ordered. But, in these 20+ years the CBI or the enquiry commission has never visited the town or the police station. 7/13

The CBI took more than 20 years to investigate the case and closed it in December 2013. In June 2014 the survivors of the massacre filed a protest petition against the closure report filed by the CBI. The protest petition – seeking further investigations in the case. 8/13

The legal proceedings stand suspended as there exists no will to allow processes of justice to proceed despite overwhelming evidence indicting personnel of the BSF, Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) 9/13

The FIR accused the BSF of killing 57 people, charged the 94th Battalion of BSF under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy houses) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). 10/13

Ranbir Penal Code was Jammu and Kashmir’s version of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which now stands null and void post abrogation of Article 370.
11/13

The high number of casualties that shook the world’s press, even caused the TIME Magazine to print its version of the massacre under the headline: ‘Blood Tide Rising‘ 12/13

Among the 57 dead civilians, 48 died due to bullet injuries and 9 were burnt alive. Now let me ask you, after 27 years did any national symbol changed anything for the people of Kashmir ? Was justice served ? Who is really disconnected from India’s national security? Think! 13/13