JKPCC President's Statement on Kishtwar Incident Sparks Controversy

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra has courted controversy with his statement on the Kishtwar incident. He claimed that the two Special Police Officers (SPOs) killed in Kishtwar were probably mistaken victims of army firing while returning from a hunt. Tariq Hameed Karra also condemned the incident and said, "Whoever may have carried it out, the authorities must investigate all aspects of the case, including the possibility of'Mistaken Identity'apart from terrorism." Speaking to the media in Srinagar, Karra accused the BJP and Kishtwar MLA Shagun Parihar of trying to give a communal colour to the incident. She said that they are claiming that terrorists from mosques were told about the location of the SPOs. Karra cited an initial report by his party's Kishtwar district president that both the SPOs carried guns and went through the hills without any trouble.