Srinagar, November 05, 2013 :The High Court has directed police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to be headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) to investigate the disappearance of a youth, Showkat Ahmad Paul, in Indian army custody from Lawaypora in Srinagar in 2003.
The youth’s family insists that Showkat Ahmad Paul disappeared in army custody.
The directions were passed while hearing a writ petition filed by Fareeda, the mother of the youth- Showkat Ahmad Paul of Lawaypora.
“In the given circumstances and in order to ensure speedy investigation in the matter, it has become necessary to direct constitution of SIT,” a single bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey said while hearing a petition filed by the youth’s mother, Fareeda, seeking whereabouts of her son.
“The Inspector General of Police is directed to constitute the SIT of officers not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and to be headed by the senior officer not below the rank of DIG,” the court said, directing the IGP to form the SIT within one from the order is served to him.
The court also directed SIT to file a status report within six weeks.
The bench passed the directions after hearing former Bar Association president advocate Z A Qureshi for petitioners and Additional Advocate General R A Khan for the territory.
In her petition, Fareeda has submitted that on June 23, 2003 her son did not return home from Amar Singh College, Srinagar where he was studying in BA final year.
On July 25, 2004, Fareeda said she came to know that Showkat was picked up by one Major Partap of 2-Rashtriya Rifles (RR) (Kilo Force), stationed at Sharief Abad HMT in Srinagar, from Partap Park and had been taken to an unknown place.
The family approached Police Station Parimpora again with the information but no action was taken, she said. The petitioner has submitted that her son, who was studying in Amar Singh College, has been missing since June 23, 2003. The missing youth was arrested by one Major Pratap kilo force of 2 Rashtriya Rifles who was posted at Shariefabad camp.
The petition was filed in April this year after media reports quoting sources suggested that Indian security agencies have the knowledge that “four militants—Chota Hamra, Abu Saad, Showkat Ahmed of Lawaypora and Hilal Molvi of Palhalan are trying to carry out a strike in the civil lines.”
Following the reports, the victim’s family approached the court saying that government agencies may carry out some incident and frame the victim as a fidayeen attacker.
The petitioner represented by senior advocate Zafar Qureshi has prayed before the court to direct concerned authorities to produce all the records pertaining to investigation of FIR (08/2008) besides the steps taken to trace her missing son.
The petitioner has also demanded that the SHO be asked whether Indian Army Major had been taken into custody for interrogation.
The state was represented by senior Additional advocate General Raja Reyaz Ahmad Khan. The petitioner has also prayed that Ministry of Defense New Delhi be directed to disclose the whereabouts of her son.
Earlier Fareeda has also filed a complaint before the Human Rights Commission (HRC) seeking status report of the case from Inspector General of Police.
On September 11, 2003, IGP submitted before the commission that all possible efforts were being made to trace out the youth but no clue was stuck till date.
The family said a year later in 2004 they came to know that Showkat was picked by Major Pratap following which they approached police station Parimpora but, according to the family, no action was taken.
Dejected over the attitude of police, Fareeda approached Chief Judicial Magistrate, (CJM) Srinagar seeking directions to the state to register an FIR against the Army Major. An FIR was registered in Police Station Kothibagh on the directions of the CJM. The petitioner alleges that even after filing of FIR, investigation was not conducted and till date the same is not being concluded except that Special Investigation Team (SIT) has recorded the statement of a source of Major Partap, namely Khurshid Ahmed confirming that Showkat was taken into illegal custody.
On April 10, the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) had decided to approach United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), over the issue, after police allegedly termed Paul ‘an active militant’ and a part of a fidayeen squad of a militant group that was planning to carry out a strike in the Civil Lines area of the city.
Parveena Ahanager, the APDP chairperson had said her organization will approach WGEID, with a request to probe and transmit directly to Government of India (GoI), through its permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, to carry out investigations and inform APDP about the results.
“We also request the WGEID to call Government of India to take steps to protect lives of the disappeared youths, who are in police custody. Our organization is rejecting those media reports in which Showkat Paul, (who is a member of APDP) is an active militant and is a member of suicide squad, who carried out a suicide attack at Bemina on March 13,” she had told media persons here at a monthly sit-in of her organization.
She told media persons that APDP had serious apprehensions about security of Showkat Paul. “The Indian intelligence agencies are making desperate efforts to kill him in fake encounter and dub him as Fidayeen. They (security forces) arrested him and he is untraced since then. Now they are trying to kill him in fake encounter,” Parveena had said.
She had said that APDP had already raised apprehensions in the past also that “security forces will kill our near and dear ones one by one in fake encounters and then brand them as armed militants.”
She said family of Paul seeks an urgent and credible response from UN so that it asks New Delhi regarding the situation. “We will also request them to send its team to Kashmir to asses the overall situation of disappearances, as the widespread and systematic pattern of enforced disappearances requires an independent probe by the UN body,” Parveena had told Media persons here.
The APDP chairperson had said that it was the constitutional duty of the government to ensure the safety and security of Paul. “The government, security agencies and the police will be responsible for any harm caused to the life of Showkat. APDP seeks the immediate release of Showkat Ahmed Pal to his family members.”
The APDP had also strongly refuted the claim made by police that Paul, of Lawaypora, is part of a fidayeen squad of a militant group planning to carry out a strike in the civil lines area of Srinagar City.
“APDP states that the claim floated through a section of the media quoting police sources is utterly baseless and false. She said Showkat was abducted by one Major Pratap of Kilo Force, 2 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) stationed at Shariefabad, HMT, Srinagar on June 23, 2003, from Pratap Park, Lal Chowk, Srinagar. At the time of his arrest Showkat was a student of Amar Singh College Srinagar,” ma statement issued by APDP had said. Reports collected from daily Srinagar-Jammu newspapers and News agencies