Srinagar With its preliminary probe into the killing of a 16-year-old student on the outskirts of Srinagar last Friday suggesting that a BSF officer shot the boy with a jawan’s Insas rifle, the J&K government has asked the Union Home Ministry to get the BSF to cooperate in conducting an identification parade.

It is alleged that the BSF officer opened fire after he and his group were booed by a group of teenagers.

A case of murder has already been registered while the government has ordered an inquiry by the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner. The police have set up a Special Investigation Team under an SSP for a swift probe into the incident.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said his government would not let the killing of the boy go unpunished.

“Our initial investigations are pointing towards a particular direction and we have shared that information with the Government of India,” Abdullah said. “Home Minister (P Chidambaram) has made it very clear that such behaviour will not be tolerated. There was no reason to open fire there.”

According to highly placed sources, a BSF officer in civvies was travelling in a Gypsy along with his guards while another vehicle with securitymen was following them when the incident took place.

According to the preliminary probe shared with the government, this is the sequence of the events:

• The BSF officer had gone for a routine medical check-up. The stretch of road between Shalimar and the city crosses Brein and Nishat neighbourhoods which were unaffected by protests downtown.

• Zahid Farooq (16) and other teenagers were on their way home after rains had forced them to abandon a cricket match. When they saw the BSF vehicles approaching, they began booing. Suddenly, the two BSF vehicles stopped and jawans jumped out. So did the officer in the civvies.

• There was a verbal altercation. The boys hurled abuses at the BSF men and began running. This is when the BSF officer, according to the probe, took an Insas rifle from a jawan and shot Zahid Farooq in the chest. He was hit by a single bullet and police have recovered the cartridge.

When contacted, I S Rana, BSF PRO in Srinagar, told The Indian Express that “none of our party was travelling in a Gypsy and a vehicle that day”. He said BSF parties did travel but each time the cavalcade had more than two vehicles. “We are trying to find out the facts,” he said.