"Preliminary investigations have established that the soldier, Lakhwinder Kumar of 68 battalion of the BSF, fired his service rifle at the youth in the Nishat area of Srinagar on Friday. The youth had died after being hit by the bullet," Special Director-General P.P.S. Sidhu of the Border Security Force (BSF) told reporters in the capital.
Sidhu said the soldier had been suspended and handed over to the police for further investigation.
He confirmed Kumar’s unit was stationed in the Gulmarg sector of the bordering line that divides Kashmir into Indian and Pakistan administered territories.
"The trooper along with others from his unit had gone to the Nishat area for a routine medical check-up on Friday when the incident occurred.”
A senior police officer in Srinagar told Arab News that they were able to make the arrest after officers recovered a bullet and a piece of uniform from the scene of the shooting.
He said that CCTV footage from the road that runs along the Dal Lake also helped the investigation.
Teenager Zahid Farooq Sheikh died after being hit in the chest. His family accused Indian border guards of the killing, leading to a probe ordered by the state’s chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Inspector general of Kashmir police Farooq Ahmad confirmed that Kumar was in custody and investigations would be completed soon.
The brutal killings of Zahid and 13-year-old student Whamik Farooq, who died last month, led to violent protests in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir region, which continued until the state government imposed a curfew in parts of Srinagar on Monday.
Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, who is chairman of the moderate separatist coalition All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), called on those responsible for the killings to be court-martialed and hanged in public to set an example to other soldiers.
