Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 4: Government today said 14 persons including some Village Defence Committee (VDC) members have been booked for flaring up communal violence in Kishtwar district on August 9 which left three persons dead and dozens injured.
Minister for Panchayati Raj Ali Muhammad Sagar, while replying to a question of PDP spokesman Naeem Akhtar on the role of VDC members in Padder Tehsil of Kishtwar, said: “Eight person were charge sheeted in the court of law on August 25, out of whom four accused including VDC members have been arrested so far and the remaining four accused are absconding.”
“Investigation of the case is in progress and the case will be challaned after arrest of the accused,” he said
However, the Government presented contradictory statistics regarding injuries saying only four persons were wounded in the clashes. At least 60 people were injured in the communal clashes in Kishtwar.
The Government said that Village Defence Committees (VDCs) were formulated in 1995 vide Government order No. Home-293 of 1995 “to deal with militancy and acts of subversion and trans-border movements.”
“The composition of a VDC varies from 10-15 armed volunteers besides SPOs to the limit of 3 per VDC. 4100 VDCs have been constituted in Jammu division, 7 in Kargil and 5 in Leh to retaliate attacks from militants,” he said.
Sagar said the VDC members were not above law and didn’t enjoy any special privilege or immunity under law. A mechanism for exercising command and control over their activities has been laid down in the scheme whose objective is to supplement the efforts of security and police to deal with militancy.
So far Government has received 49 complaints against VDC members from different districts of Jammu division for indulging in lawful activities. First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered in all the cases and investigations taken up, Sagar said.
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