Srinagar March 20, 2019: Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone today while expressing grief on the killing of Rizwan Pandith in police custody blamed lack of accountability patronized by two traditional parties to safeguard their own interests.

“The killing of a school teacher in police custody is unacceptable in a democratic setup and must be condemned in strongest of terms. It is imperative for the Governor administration to conduct a fair and transparent inquiry into the reasons that led to this unfortunate incident and punish those involved. For people to be able to have belief in the system, justice must not only be done but seen to be done as well”, he said while condemning the killing.

Sajad said that the culture of impunity and lack of accountability started by two traditional political parties and their failure to hold erring police officers in the past accountable has led to normalization of excesses.

“The failure of NC & PDP to hold culprits to account is partly responsible for the death of Rizwan Asad Pandit. This culture of immunity and impunity has to end for people to have any trust in the system. The judicial inquiry ordered in this incident has to be time bound and reach its final conclusion because the way these two parties have used judicial probes to cool down tempers and buy time.”, he added.