Custodial killing: ‘Makhan Din’s family rejects compensation, demands justice
Jammu, February 24, 2025: The victim Makhan Din’s wife, Zona Begum, is four months pregnant and now faces an uncertain future with their two daughters, in Kathua area of the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Indian forces of Special Operation Group arrested a 25-year-old Makhan Din in Perody, area of Kathua district and after inhumanly tortured in police custody he forcibly commits suicide on 6 Feb 2025.
On February 5, 25-year-old Gujjar Bakarwal man, Makhan Din, who was a resident of Balawar in Kathua district, allegedly took his own life after as per his family says it as “brutal police torture.” His death has sparked outrage, with political leaders demanding a fair investigation.
Makhan Din’s father, Muhammad Mureed, accused the police of detaining him and his son on baseless charges of being Over Ground Workers (OGWs) linked to resistance camps struggling for freedom from India. “The SHO of Balawar police station took us in without any proof. They beat my son mercilessly and accused him of things he never did. They wanted a confession, but he was innocent,” Mureed said.
He recounted the horrors of the detention, saying that the police not only assaulted them but also verbally abused them. “They stripped him, hung him upside down, and kept beating him. He cried out for mercy, but they wouldn’t stop,” he said.
The victim’s father Mureed said that after they were released, his son Makhan Din was visibly shaken and refused to eat for days. “He barely spoke, but I could see the fear in his eyes. He told me, ‘Abba, they will come for us again. They won’t let us live.’ And he was right—he couldn’t bear the pain anymore.”
Before ending his life, Makhan Din recorded a video detailing his ordeal. In the footage, he repeatedly asserted his innocence and said the police had pressured him to confess to being a militant sympathizer.
The screenshot from the last recorded video said “They want me to admit something I never did. I am not a militant. I never helped any militant. But they beat me so much that I can’t take it anymore,” he said in the video, his voice shaking. “I don’t want my family to suffer like I have.”
The video has since gone viral, leading to widespread condemnation of the police’s actions.
The family has refused any financial compensation and is instead demanding legal action against the officers involved in the crime. “We don’t want money. We don’t want sympathy. We want justice,” said Makhan Din’s elder brother, Lal Din. “The culprits should be punished for what they did to him. How many more innocent men will have to die like this?”
According to the family, even after Makhan Din’s death, the police tried to silence them. “They sealed off our village, blocked internet services, and threatened people who wanted to protest,” said Mureed. “They think they can bury the truth, but we won’t let them.”
Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed in the Human Rights Commission, by Advocate Nikhil Padha, founder of the Organization for Human Rights & Harmony (OHRH). though a toothless body after revocation of Article 370, seeking intervention in the deaths of two civilians by Indian troops in Kathua and Baramulla districts. The complaint states that 25-year-old Makhan Din from Kathua and 32-year-old Waseem Ahmad Mir from Sopore, Baramulla, lost their lives at the hands of Indian forces’ personnel extrajudicially, raising serious concerns about human rights violations in the occupied territory. Source Kashmri Media Service
Makhan Din’s father, Muhammad Mureed, accused the police of detaining him and his son on baseless charges of being Over Ground Workers (OGWs) linked to resistance camps struggling for freedom from India. “The SHO of Balawar police station took us in without any proof. They beat my son mercilessly and accused him of things he never did. They wanted a confession, but he was innocent,” Mureed said.
He recounted the horrors of the detention, saying that the police not only assaulted them but also verbally abused them. “They stripped him, hung him upside down, and kept beating him. He cried out for mercy, but they wouldn’t stop,” he said.
The victim’s father Mureed said that after they were released, his son Makhan Din was visibly shaken and refused to eat for days. “He barely spoke, but I could see the fear in his eyes. He told me, ‘Abba, they will come for us again. They won’t let us live.’ And he was right—he couldn’t bear the pain anymore.”
Before ending his life, Makhan Din recorded a video detailing his ordeal. In the footage, he repeatedly asserted his innocence and said the police had pressured him to confess to being a militant sympathizer.
The screenshot from the last recorded video said “They want me to admit something I never did. I am not a militant. I never helped any militant. But they beat me so much that I can’t take it anymore,” he said in the video, his voice shaking. “I don’t want my family to suffer like I have.”
The video has since gone viral, leading to widespread condemnation of the police’s actions.
The family has refused any financial compensation and is instead demanding legal action against the officers involved in the crime. “We don’t want money. We don’t want sympathy. We want justice,” said Makhan Din’s elder brother, Lal Din. “The culprits should be punished for what they did to him. How many more innocent men will have to die like this?”
According to the family, even after Makhan Din’s death, the police tried to silence them. “They sealed off our village, blocked internet services, and threatened people who wanted to protest,” said Mureed. “They think they can bury the truth, but we won’t let them.”
Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed in the Human Rights Commission, by Advocate Nikhil Padha, founder of the Organization for Human Rights & Harmony (OHRH). though a toothless body after revocation of Article 370, seeking intervention in the deaths of two civilians by Indian troops in Kathua and Baramulla districts. The complaint states that 25-year-old Makhan Din from Kathua and 32-year-old Waseem Ahmad Mir from Sopore, Baramulla, lost their lives at the hands of Indian forces’ personnel extrajudicially, raising serious concerns about human rights violations in the occupied territory. Source Kashmri Media Service