9 years on justice eludes Rainawari family
Srinagar, April 07: Paramilitary troopers of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were involved in the killing 17-year-old Tufail Ahmad Matto, whose death on June 11, 2010 triggered summer uprising in Kashmir Valley.
Advocate Imtiyaz Ahmad, who appeared on behalf of the complainant before Chief Judicial Magistrate of Srinagar, Yaspal Bourney, said that the in charge Officer of police rejected the claim of the eyewitness that a police constable fired teargas shells that caused the death of the 12th standard teenager student. “At the time of incident, only CRPF personnel deployed in the area were carrying the teargas guns,” the in charge police officer informed the court.
The Investigation Officer in the case submitted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate that the witness has wrongly identified the police constable in the identification parade. The identified policeman was not deployed in the area at the time of killing but was on duty in Police Lines, Srinagar.”
On March 16, 2010, a woman witness identified a police constable who, she said, fired teargas shell at the teenager during an identification parade in Rainawari Police station. The CJM, meanwhile, directed police to expedite the investigations in the case and listed the case on April 12. Subsequently, the policeman was taken into custody for questioning before the magistrate.
On March 08, the court had directed police to complete identification parade of all the 75 suspects in the case within 30 days.
According to the family, Tufail was returning home from tuitions on June 11 last when the teargas shells of men in uniform hit him near Gani Memorial College in Srinagar, killing him on the spot.
Mattoo’s death triggered off protests in the valley and at least 122 persons including women and teenagers were killed in subsequent five months
Meanwhile, on the 9th death anniversary of their beloved Showkat Ahmad Zargar on April 8, 2011 a government employee from Rainawari who was killed in a fake encounter in 2002, his family has appealed to help them get justice.
Zargar was killed by the Border Security Froce (BSF) who was born in a middle-class family, Showkat, a graduate, worked on daily wage basis in the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Srinagar. He supported his family comprising aged parents, and a brother and sister.
Impressed by his hardwork, the then Tehsildar settlement had recommended his regularization. But destiny had something else in store for him.
“My son was arrested by the BSF’s 49 battalion in 2000 many times and each time the BSF claimed recovery of arms and ammunition from him. As the BSF could not establish any crime against him, he was later set free. The family said on April 8, 2002, the BSF men and cops barged into his house at 10.45 pm. “The soldiers bundled him in a Gypsy,” the father of victim said. The family immediately approached the Rainawari Police Station but the cops feigned ignorance about the arrest.
“At 1.30 am, we heard gunshots in the nearly Miskeen Bagh area. Next morning as we visited the Rainawari Police Station and were shocked when the cops told us to collect Showkat’s body from police control room,” Amin said.
“Besides bullet injuries on his chest, his arm was broken and there were bruises all over his body,” Amin said with moist eyes. After Showkat’s killing, his mother developed various ailments and passed away last year.
Showkat’s sister Azra said after failing to get justice, they had approached the Human Right Commission sponsored by authorities, which directed the police to register a case against the accused and investigate the matter.
Following massive protests against the killing, the government on April 15, 2002 ordered a probe into the killing and appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner as inquiry officer of the case. In his report, the officer picked up holes in the killing. “The inquiry confirmed that the deceased was an innocent person working as a prism man in the Revenue department and recommended an investigation at higher level. For past nine years, we are moving from pillar to post to get justice.
We make a fervent appeal to the human rights bodies to probe the matter and give us justice,” the family said.