J&K: Slain youth's father refuses Army cash compensation offer, Mirwaiz under house arrest

Srinagar: Muhammad Yusuf Butt, father of one of the teenagers killed in Army firing at Chattergam on the outskirts of Srinagar earlier this week, has rejected compensation offer from it.

A senior Army officer had earlier during the day on Friday while accepting responsibility for the killing said the Ministry of Defence has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh to the injured. He also assured that any rehabilitation required for the injured will also be taken care of.

Butt whose 14-year-old son Faisal Yusuf with another youth Merajuddin were killed and two others were injured when Army opened fire at a Maruti 800 car on Monday told reporters, “I will not accept army compensation against my son’s blood, I will not take a penny from the killers of my innocent son.”

He added, “I offer Rs.20 lakh per head for those who killed my innocent and unarmed son” and asked “Is Army ready to handover them to me?” There has been no response to the Army announcement from the family of the other youth or those injured in the shooting or their families, so far.

Meanwhile, police on Friday placed senior separatist leader and Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, under house arrest in the backdrop of his appeal to the people to hold protests against the November 3 firing incident. He had also asked imams of all the mosques in the Valley to lead protest rallies after congregational prayers against the killing of youths. The authorities said the situation remained peaceful across the Valley and only minor incidents of violence and protests were reported from some parts of Srinagar and elsewhere.