SRINAGAR: Ruling National Conference (NC) today demanded a CBI or judicial probe headed by a sitting Supreme Court Judge to ascertain the veracity of reports that the then Army Chief General V K Singh in 2010 had tried to overthrow the Omar Abdullah Government.
“NC demands a high-level probe into the functioning of a top secret intelligence unit set up by then Army Chief General V K Singh, which is alleged to have been using secret service funds to destabilise the Omar Abdullah Government in J&K,” party provincial president, Kashmir Nasir Aslam Wani told reporters here.
A report in an English daily today claimed that Technical Services Division (TSD), an intelligence unit of the Army, had paid Rs 1.19 crore to State agriculture minister Ghulam Hasaan Mir for changing the Government in the State.
“This is a very serious issue and cannot be brushed aside or dismissed. As such, we demand a judicial probe under a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court or at the least by the CBI, and the findings be made public without any delay,” he said.
“J&K has suffered at the machinations of people who have tried time and again to demean the elected Government and this alleged report substantiates that there are people who want to dent the credibility of democratic institutions that India is known for,” Wani said.
Asked if Mir should resign, he said, “It is for his conscience to take a decision as he does not belong to NC. When it comes to our party, we had categorically asked MOS Home (Sajad Ahmad Kitchloo) to resign pending a judicial inquiry (into Kishtwar riots).”
Wani expressed apprehension that the alleged fake encounter case in 2010 at Machil in which three youths were shot dead, after being lured on the pretext of high paying jobs with the Army and passed off as infiltrators from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was part of a design to destabilise the state government.
The alleged fake encounter in Machil had led to widespread protests in the Valley paralysing normal life for nearly two months besides resulting in death of over 120 people.
Meanwhile, NC’s provincial president, Jammu Devender Singh Rana also stressed on the party’s demand of a CBI or judicial probe into the alleged functioning of Army’s Technical Services Division.
Talking to reporters in Rajouri district this evening, he said, “There should be a judicial or a CBI inquiry because the allegations are serious. They have undermined a democratically elected Government.
“If the allegations come out to be true, this would alienate the people of the State further,” Rana said.
“Probably it’s a first of its kind of incident in the history of democratic India and people cannot ignore this… We demand a thorough probe,” Rana, who was the political advisor to Omar Abdullah, added. (AGENCIES)
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