South Asia Human Rights Journalist Association

Srinagar, Sept 14, 2018: (Hurman rights vioations in Kahsmir): A 21 year old Umar Farooq  son of Farooq Ahmad Mir, 55, of Kowsibagh village in Pulwama  arrested on 26 February, 2018 while the family now is in dire straits. With the head of the family nursing a neurological ailment and his son – the sole breadwinner of the family – languishing in jail, this Pulwama family has fallen deep into poverty and destitution. Farooq Ahmad Mir, 55, of Kowsibagh village in Pulwama district, a mason by profession, was left half paralyzed by a neurological condition, leaving him unfit to work, some three years back.   Mir’s son, 21 year old Umar Farooq dropped out of school and started working to support the family.
 However in February, earlier this year,  Police personnel made a fake case against Umar  in a weapon snatching case and has been in jail ever since. The family now is in dire straits.
The case pertains to weapon snatching and killing of a police man on February 25 outside Chrar-e-Sharief shrine in Budgam district.
That day, the family said, Umar was, as usual, ferrying passengers from his village to main town Pulwama when he was intercepted by some gun wielding militants outside the government degree college Pulwama.
“He told us later in the day that he was taken forcibly and then made to wait at a distance from where the weapon snatching took place,” Umar’s mother, Aisha begum, told Kashmir Reader.
She said that her son, unaware of what was happening, panicked and drove away from the place as soon as he heard some gunshots.  “He came home straightaway and narrated whatever had happened,” Begum said.
The family thought speaking truth will save Umar and handed him over to police the same evening at nearby Kakapora police station polwama
Umar was later handed over to the Budgam police, who booked him for the crime and was shifted to central jail in Srinagar. The case is sub judice now.
“We thought he will be spared because he was forcibly involved in the act at gunpoint. But I guess expecting justice was a mistake,” Mir told Kashmir Reader, as he struggles to speak.
Ever since, the financial condition of the family has been nosediving rapidly with no end to the misery in sight.
Umar’s vehicle, a Maruti Eeco, was seized by the police but the bank does not have a consideration for such cases and the family has been paying 6500 Rupees per month-to repay the car loan.
“Why would they care that the vehicle was not in service and is earning us no money? They want the loan to be repaid,” Begum said.
Breaking the back of the family furthermore, the medical bills of Mir are rising every passing day. Begum confides that the monthly expenses of his medicines were more than 5000 rupees and every visit to the doctor costs them an additional 10 to 15 thousand rupees.
“This, at a time, when we have been earning nothing,” Begum laments.
The couple’s another son, Mubashir, has now dropped out of school and is doing menial jobs to support the family.
“Mubashir could have driven the Eeco now to support the family but……” Begum says.
To make the ends meet the family has now taken several loans from their neighbors and relatives. To repay them will be a herculean task.
The agonies of the Mir family do not seem to end anytime soon as the court proceedings might take a while.
The family understands that the matter was sub judice now and only in the hands of the court to decide; they are, nevertheless, making an emotional appeal, “to anyone who cares,”
“My son did not get involved in this and we are now too broken to carry on like this. I hope some listens to us and sets our son free,” Begum says.
Till then the family continues to suffer with Mir lying in the house, Mubashir trying to find work and Begum, dead worried about the days to come.
On the other hand, the family of illegally detained youth, Peerzada Muhammad Ashraf of Islamabad town has expressed dismay over the legal system for having a reputation of being expensive and prone to delays.  Peerzada Muhammad Ashraf, 35—in a fake case involved him in a  grenade blast incident has spent over Rs 21 lakh on his court case—however the road to justice still continues to remain far from reality. He was released and 13 draconain law Public SafEty ACT were imposed on him on false charge.
 
According to family despite Principal Session Judge’s bail order, the accused continues to languish in jail since last fourteen years.
 
Ashraf, son of Peerzada Ghulam Nabi, a resident of Batagund Verinag, was arrested on December 2006 in connection with a grenade attack that had occurred on 19-07-2004 during a government-sponsored health Mela at Kapran Verinag area of Islamabad (Anantnag) district, in which Chief Engineer R&B died, including two civilians and some policemen also lost their life. Dr Asghar Samoon, the then deputy commissioner Islamabad (Anantnag) was also critically injured in this incident including then Congress MLA for Noorabad constituency, Abdul Majeed Paddar.
At the time of his arrest, Ashraf was a student of the 3rd year in UG course at Boys Degree College Khanabal and had memorised 16 chapters of Quran also. Besides this, he used to work as a daily wager in the R&B department.
“My brother was arrested on false charges of being involved in the grenade blast incident at Kapran during a government function, making him a scapegoat,” said Peerzada Firdous Ahmed, the younger brother of Ashraf. 
 
The prime accused in this incident was Syed Murtaza—native of Nowgam Verinag, who was picked up from his home by the police three days after this incident. He was in jail for two years and was provided bail later on.
Police, later on, slapped 13 black law (Public Safety Act PSAs) on Ashraf, which were quashed by the High court Srinagar. Ashraf was also charged for pelting stones despite him being lodged in jail for more than a decade since 2004.
“My brother was never released and 13 draconain PSAs were imposed on him on false charges. All these PSAs were quashed by the High Court in Srinagar which also ordered for his subsequent release. Whenever we went to police with the bail orders, they would come up with new false charges every time,” said Firdous.
Our father, who was an Imam (preacher) at a local Halqa Jamia Masjid, Batagund Verinag, fell ill due to the long detention of his innocent son. Doctors hopelessly treated him saying only his son’s return could revive him. He died a few months after falling ill, last year, and he had lost a considerable amount of vision. Our brother was not even allowed to see the face of his father or be part of his funeral prayers,”  said Peerzada Firdous Ahmed, adding Several other eyewitnesses, which mostly included the government officials of that time also did not give their statement against Ashraf following which he was instantly granted bail by the judge on 11-05-2011 as police had failed to prove the claims. Around 20 witnesses gave their statement in front of the judge that day, all in his favour.” sources agencie