Minister for Rural Development and Law, Mr Abdul Haq Khan is camping at the district headquarters here for the past two days to monitor the situation in the area.Mr Haq visited the families of the victims of security forces firing at Handwara last evening and assured them that the guilty would be punished. He expressed solidarity with the bereaved families. He said while no amount of compensation would be enough to alleviate the grief of the bereaved families over the loss of their dear ones, the Government would, however, try to reach out to them with whatever could be done for them.The Minister interacted with the members of the civil society and urged them to help restore normalcy in the town.
Mr Haq said the Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti has already taken up the matter at the highest level in the Government of India and action will be taken against the forces personnel who allegedly resorted avoidable use of force against the protesters in Handwara resulting in tragic civilian casualties.The Minister also convened a high level meeting with the civil and the police administration to review the overall situation in the area. He said the police and other security forces have been asked to exercise maximum restraint while dealing with the public protests.“I am in constant touch with the civil and police authorities at Handwara to ensure that normalcy is restored in the area at the earliest,” the Minister said.