Chrar Blast:

On July 12, Budgam District Police revealed that two main accused in Chrar blast have been arrested. There was a grenade blast on June 8, in which seven devotees had died and 40 others injured at the shrine of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani. The police investigation claimed that the main target of the grenade attack, on June 8 was Inspector Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar. DIG Srinagar-Budgam, K Rajendra told mediamen that three People's Conference leaders who engineered the attack, had given a hand grenade to Shahnawaz Ahmed Dar alias Nuna Dob who passed it to one Shahnawaz Hussain Baba alias Naza Mokur. Shahnaz, he said, hurled the grenade on a crowd of devotees in which SHO Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar was also present. A congregation of 10,000 devotees were preparing for Friday afternoon prayers when the blast occurred. At the behest of militants, a section of Chrar-e-Sharif residents put the blame on police. The residents that time made a pre-posterous claim that they had seized the bullet-proof jacket of a policeman, who, according to them had received the grenade from SHO Chrar and thrown it on the assembly of devotees. 

Police subsequently arrested both Shahnawaz Ahmad Dar and Shahnaaz Hussain Baba. They were produced before media and TV cameras. The two revealed a harrowing account of the incident. The investigation was completed by a special team led by SP Budgam Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari. 

Shahnawaz Dar, as per police was involved in the rape and murder of a woman, namely Khati and had been recently released from Central Jail. He claimed that a People's Conference leader handed him a grenade to be tossed towards the SHO. He was paid Rs 500 and promised next instalment of Rs 3000 after the blast. Both Shahnaz Baba and Shahnawaz Dar admitted that immediately after the blast, they intermingled with the demonstrators and shouted slogans against the police. For the next two nights, the two were at the Srinagar residence of the People's Conference leader. Later Shahnawaz Dar went to SP Budgam and revealed the entire sequence. He along with his accomplice were subsequently arrested and the conspiracy to defame security forces was nailed. The bullet-proof jacket, which people seized on spot, DIG Rajender revealed, was that of SI Mohd Amin, who had gone to the shrine to pay his obeisance. 

Militants set ablaze a teenager:

In the second attempt to defame security forces, terrorists donning army uniform stopped Bilal Ahmed, a teenager in village Krankshawan, near Sopore on July 27. He was strolling in an orchard. Bilal was asked to produce an identity card, which he complied with immediately. Without any thought, one terrorist sprinkled gunpowder on Bilal, while the other one, brought a matchstick and set him ablaze. Bilal, suffering from 85 percent burns was shifted to hospital at Sopore. The family members of Bilal, said that they didn't see any army jawan near the site of the incident. Bilal, too admitted that he could not establish the identity of the uniformed men. "I am shocked. I am not a militant. I have no involvement. I never expected this to happen," Bilal told media men in hospital. 

Both police officials at Sopore and Army have also denied their involvement. SHO Sopore Khursheed said, "there is no evidence which will corroborate that the men who set Bilal on fire were armymen." He added, why will they do it to him. He has no record of being directly or indirectly involved with militancy. Though police did not receive any written complaint against the said incident, an FIR No: 192 stands registered and investigations were on. Police did not even rule out personal rivalry in the incident. 

The spokesman of Kiloforce division of the Army, whose units are located in the area said, "our men don't carry gunpowder nor petrol. More than 80 percent of the foreign militants wear army fatigues. How will we know who were these men, who did it to this boy. I have personally checked with each of our unit. There was not a single patrol out at that particular time." Bilal died three days later. Separatists forced people to come out and put the blame on Army to tarnish its image. The demonstrators were addressed by two separatist leaders Prof Ghani Bhat and Nayeem Khan. 

"Mass Grave" at Bandipor:

In the latest incident, Pakistan Television claimed that a mass grave has been found at Chitternar, Bandipore. On July 12, the battalion headquarters of 14 Rashtriya Rifles moved from their camp at Chitternar, and handed over possession of the area to the forest department officials. While moving armymen had discarded pairs of shoes and torn cloth pieces. This indicated that these were the remains of a military camp that had shifted. 

Immediately after the army unit shifted, the locals, as per forest officials, came and looted pieces of tarpaulin, and hundreds of tin sheets. Soon after separatist propaganda mill sent a word around to provoke villagers against Army, that the area housed mass graves of Kashmiri militants killed in "custody". To a plan, both PTV and Hurriet Conference began inciting the people. Hurriet Conference issued a statement that a mass grave had been found in the forest land where the Army had been camping. The Hurriet statement said, "we saw a number of shoes and sandals and pouches, besides there was a stink of the dead emanating from at least three different places, which clearly indicate that there are mass graves where the army buried the arrested militants and other men who disappeared in their custody". 

There were no dead bodies nor stink anywhere. A forest guard posted in the Chitternar Forest Academy said, "there was no rumour of any grave till then. Next morning (after Army camp shifted) everybody was talking about graves and bodies buried inside". 

The local police has also debunked the claims of Hurriet Conference. Khalid Muzaffar, the Sub-Divisional Police officer, Bandipore said, "I personally appealed to the people to come to me, or just give me a phone call and tell me where exactly they suspected a grave or a mass grave, we are ready to dig up that place. Nobody came forward". He pointed out that this was unusual and contrary to similar occasions in the past "when villagers came to us with complaints against security forces". The police and army later collected a group of around 30 eminent people of the locality, including Imams of the main mosques, to see for themselves. This sinister allegation had no basis. How could there be a mass grave underneath a place where an army unit is stationed. 

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