Srinagar: After a 50-year-old man was killed on Thursday, allegedly by ‘cow vigilantes’ in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, his family has demanded an independent investigation, free of the control of “communal forces”.

According to reports, a group of vigilantes in Bhaderwah town allegedly opened fire on cattle traders at 2 am on Thursday, killing Nayeem Ahmad Shah and injuring another. The killing triggered massive protests and outrage in the frontier town.

The authorities imposed curfew and called in the army to control the situation, while police rounded up eight suspects.

Humaira Nayeem, the daughter of the victim, told The Wire that her father was returning home from Sarsal village with his cattle when members of a right-wing gang fired opened fire and killed him on the spot.

Nayeem is survived by his wife, four daughters and a son.

“My father received threats a few months ago from RSS and BJP workers in Nalthi village, that he should refrain from conveying his cattle through his village. He did not take seriously,” she said. “This is a cold-blooded murder.”

“I saw his dead body,” she said. “He had three bullet wounds: one in the head, two in his chest and back. The RSS and BJP are behind his murder and we demand they be hanged for their crime.”

The family says that the police haven’t arrested the main culprits behind the murder.

“The police have picked up the relatives of the accused, while the real culprits are absconding,” said Mohammad Sameer, son of Zahoor Ahmad, who managed to escape with a minor injury. “We gave the names of those who are behind the murder, but the police are supporting them.”

Midnight murder

Sameer says he received a distress call midnight on Thursday from his father that they were attacked. He rushed to the spot with other villagers and found Nayeem in a pool of blood.

“My father is in shock. He said that the accused flashed torches at them and then opened fire directly on Nayeem. Their target was to kill him,” says Sameer.

When they reached the spot at around 3 am, the police had already arrived and were reportedly washing blood stains off the the road. The dead body was taken to the Bhaderwah hospital for a post-mortem, and handed over to the family around 8 am on Thursday.

News spread of the murder, drawing a large angry congregation in the town. Young people clashed with the security forces, and pelted stones on the police station, demanding that those behind the killing should be handed over to them.

The police fired tear gas shells, but failed to disperse the protestors, who then vandalised parked vehicles by smashing their windowpanes. Angry protesters also torched two auto rickshaws and some motorcycles at Seri Bazaar, Takia Chowk and Pasri Bus Stand, police said. The Army was eventually called in to control the situation.

The families said they don’t trust the police investigation.

“The government is of the BJP and the murderers are their workers,” Sameer told The Wire. “Why will they support us? We know that they wouldn’t be arrested so we demand an independent investigation in the case.”

After the BJP-PDP coalition government in the state fell, Jammu and Kashmir has been under the President’s rule, overseen by the Centre-appointed governor.

Stoking communal tensions

The Bhadarwah town of the Chenab valley has a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims, and elected a BJP MLA in the last state election.

Raqib Hameed Naik, a journalist and native of the area, said the attack could be a ploy to stoke communal tension in the area.

“Most of the people in Chenab valley live in villages and depend on livestock and its trade. It is also home to the tribal nomadic community during summers,” Naik told The Wire. “The latest cow-related killing can have serious ramifications on the communal harmony in the region.”

Also Read: Backstory: The Right Way to Talk About the Growing Cancer of Vigilantism

Eventually, deputy commissioner Doda Sagar Doifode and SSP Doda Shabir Ahmed Malik asked the Army to take control of Bhaderwah town to establish order.

The army moved into the town around 9 am. The district magistrate also announced an indefinite curfew within town limits. Mobile internet was suspended in Bhaderwah and surroundings.

The curfew continued on Friday, although district development commissioner Doda, Dr Sagar Doifode, said the situation is under control and people have been allowed to offer Friday prayers.

According to police, a case under IP 302, 307 RPC and 3/25 and 7/27 Arms Act has been registered.

“The family identified suspects and we arrested them on the same day, I don’t know what they are saying,” he said, about the allegations that the police are protecting the perpetrators. Whether “cow vigilantes” were behind the murder will be established after investigation, he said.

The author is a Srinagar-based journalist and tweets @AuqibJaveed.