J&K DySP mob lynching outside Srinagar mosque: People behind 'travesty' should 'burn in hell', says Omar Abdullah

Condemning the lynching of a police officer in Srinagar, National Conference working president Omar Abdullah on Friday asserted that the people behind the “travesty” should “burn in hell”.

He said the killing of deputy superintendent of police Mohammad Ayub Pandith outside the Jamia Masjid in the downtown area of the city was height of brutality.

“I am personally anguished and devastated by this tragedy. That this happened on the most auspicious night and outside Jamia Masjid is shocking,” he said.

Omar wrote on Twitter, saying, “His death is a tragedy & the manner of his death a travesty. May the people who lynched DySP Pandith burn in hell for their sins.”

Expressing shock and anguish over the “dastardly and barbaric” killing, Omar said the killing was the height of barbarism and should be condemned unequivocally by everyone.

“I am personally anguished and devastated by this tragedy. That this happened on the most auspicious night and outside Jamia Masjid is shocking. Such heinous elements are the enemies of Kashmiriyat and humanity and should be given the sternest possible sentence as per the law of the land,” he said in a statement.

DSP Mohammed Ayoub Pandit, who was stripped naked and stoned to death by an irate mob after he allegedly opened fire at a group of people, who caught him clicking pictures near a mosque in Srinagar’s downtown area in the early hours of Friday.

#Srinagar: Family mourns the death of Deputy SP Mohammed Ayub Pandith, beaten to death by mob in J&K's Nowhatta last night pic.twitter.com/kjv6QtCvCa

— ANI (@ANI_news) June 23, 2017

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi dubbed the lynching of a deputy superintendent of police in Jammu and Kashmir as “horrific”, saying the incident marked a new low in the state.

He hit out at the ruling government, saying that the state had gone back several decades due to the “complete failure” of the PDP-BJP combine there.

“The brutal lynching of Deputy SP Md Ayub Pandith marks a new low. Pained beyond words at the horrific incident,” he said on Twitter.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti termed the police officer lynching incident as shameful. J&K Police Deputy SP Mohammed Ayub Pandith of Security was beaten to death by a mob on Thursday night for shooting at crowd after they stopped him from taking pictures outside a mosque.

Attended the wreath laying ceremony for the officer, J&K CM Mufti said, "Our police is one of the best police force in country, showing maximum restraint because they feel they're dealing with their own people."

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“Heartbreaking to see J&K being pushed back several decades because of the complete failure of the PDP/BJP government,” he tweeted.