Tufail Matto killing: CJM summons SIT head to appear on Thursday

Srinagar: A local court Wednesday directed head of the Special Investigation Team to appear personally after police submitted that it had not issued teargas gun on the day when 17-year-old Tufail Ahmad Matto was killed on June 11 last. The teenager’s death had triggered summer unrest in which over a hundred persons mainly youth were killed.“As there was no one from SIT present following which CJM, Yaspal Bourney directed the head of the SIT to appear in person tomorrow,” advocate Altaf Ahmad Khan, counsel of family told. “Earlier, the police filed status report in which it submitted that on the fateful day it had not issued any teargas gun which is shocking,” he added.  On last hearing, the CJM had pulled up police for shoddy probe observing no concrete results were achieved so far. The court observation followed the perusal of case diary file by the police. On March 16 last, a woman witness identified a police constable who she said had fired teargas shell at the teenager.However, the police later informed the court that paramilitary CRPF and not Police was involved in the killing. Mattoo’s death triggered off cycle of violence in the valley and at least 112 persons were killed in subsequent five months. According to the family, Tufail was returning home from tuitions on June 11 last when police teargas shell hit him near Gani Memorial College in old city, killing him on the spot.The police even refused to file an FIR initially and it was on the directions of the court that a case was registered.