Mehbooba Mufti warns Kashmiris against testing limits of 'restrained' security forces

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who has called the lynching of Deputy SP Mohammed Ayub Pandith a "shameful act", has warned the residents of the valley to not test the patience of the security forces, who use restraint in dealing with locals.

Jammu and Kashmir: DySP Mohammed Ayub Pandith lynched by mob outside mosque in Srinagar

"Nothing can be more shameful than to kill someone who works for the welfare of the people. The Jammu and Kashmir Police are showing maximum restraint as they are dealing with their own people, but for how long?," questioned Mufti while addressing the media at the wreath laying ceremony of Pandith on Friday.

"Someday when they will lose their patience, then it would become very difficult for the people," added Mufti.

Mufti also said the police were deployed for the protection and security of the lives of the people in the state but if they continued to behave like this and harm the security personnel then it's possible that the past may return in which security forces use maximum force on people and people would have to flee each time a policy jeep would pass the streets.

"Our police is the best in the country," she added.

Interestingly, sources have told CNN News 18 that the lynching was a planned one.

Meanwhile, Kashmir DGP SP Vaid has also criticised the lynching of Pandith.

Vaid has said that two people have been arrested so far while a third person has been identified. The accused will be facing the law.

The policeman was stoned to death on Friday early morning by an irate mob at Nowhatta, Srinagar after he allegedly opened fire at a group of people near a mosque.

Pandith, who was in civil clothes, was seen outside the Jamia Masjid where the Shab-e-Qadr prayers were under way. At around 12:30 am, he was reportedly seen clicking pictures of the people coming out of the mosque.

According to media reports, he failed to answer the queries of the locals, which soon turned into a heated argument, following which he allegedly fired several shots from his pistol, injuring three persons. While initial reports suggested that one youth from the mob was shot in the leg and another was shot in his stomach, latest reports say that three people were injured. They were rushed to SMHS hospital.

The infuriated crowd then caught hold of him, stripped him naked and stoned him to death. They also went on a rampage and targeted the empty security pickets erected near the mosque.

Though a police officer was quoted by Kashmir Life as saying that the man was not a policeman, he was later identified as one. It is being said that Pandith and 10 other policemen who were in plainclothes had been deployed near the grand mosque for the security of Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq, who was leading the prayers on the Night of Power.

Meanwhile, several policemen have been deployed to restore normalcy in the area. The condition of the three injured youths is said to be stable.