Srinagar, March 25, 2015 : The relatives of the victims of Pathribal fake encounter in a function held at Brari Aangan in Shangus area of Islamabad (Anantnag), district, today, reiterated their commitment for continuing the struggle to bring the killer Indian troops to justice. .On this day in 2000, Indian army shot dead five civilians in Pathribal forests and later dubbed them as foreign militants involved in the massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chattisingpora village which had been carried out three days before by unidentified gunmen.
On 25th of March exactly 5 days after the Chattisinghpora massacre, in which 36 members of the Sikh community were ruthlessly murdered by some unidentified gunmen, the Indian Army claimed to have killed 5 foreign militants, responsible for the massacre, in a fierce gun battle in Pathribal village of this south Kashmir district, some 55 Kilometers South of Srinagar.
On the 15th anniversary of Pathribal fake encounter, a remembrance meet was organized in Brari Aangan village of Shangus in this South Kashmir district on Wednesday. Demanding probe by an international rights organization, people held protest demonstrations to seek justice to the victims.
Early in the morning victim families and other villagers assembled at Brari Aangan and paid homage to the slain. Two of the victims- Jumma Khan, 42, S/O Fakir Khan, and his namesake S/O Amirullah Khan who were among the five civilians killed in a fake encounter by Indian Army and dubbed as foreign militants- hailed from Brari Aangan village.
The duo were arrested from their houses by Indian Army in this remote village during the dead of the night on March 24 and later killed in a stage managed encounter at Pathribal village of Shangus.
The other three civilians killed by Army included Bashir Ahmad Bhat, 22, and Muhammad Yousuf Malik, 25, both from Halan, Kapran village in Verinag area; and Zahoor Ahmad Dalal, 20, of Moominabad area of Islamabad town.
Malik and Bhat, who had a joint sheep business, were picked up from Sherpora area of Islamabad town while Zahoor Dalal was whisked away in a Gypsy by JK Police and government gunmen outside his residence at Ashajipora area of the town.
The family members and some locals carrying placards and banners reading ‘Go AFSPA’ marched up to the graveyard where the victims are buried and offered prayers for them.
The victims’ families vowed to fight for justice till end. “An army court verdict was expected. You can’t expect justice from the killers. But closure of the case has not broken our resolve. If the killers think so, they are badly mistaken. Our fight for justice will continue till end,” said Rashid Khan, son of one of the victims Juma Khan. Four other victims of the fake encounter were Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Mohammad Yusuf Malik, Juma Khan and Zahoor Ahmad Dalal.
“We have convened the meet to send a message across that we have not forgotten our loved ones and will continue to fight for justice,” said the victim families. They said that Indian Army personnel might have given its officers a clean chit but that has not broken their resolve to strive for justice.
“We appeal international humanitarian organizations to intervene and ensure that guilty are bought to book,” said Rasheed Khan, one of the victim family members.
His views were echoed by Shakoor Khan, another victim family member of Brari Aangan village. “Let us see if Mufti lives up to his promise.”
Later people held pro-freedom demonstrations and marched towards the graveyard where two victims of Pathribal fake encounter and 8 more people, killed in police firing on protest demonstrations at Brakpora village, are buried. Reports said that the protesters sporting black arm and head bands were demanding justice for Pathribal, Chatisinghpora and Brakpora victims. They were also holding placards reading: “Justice to Pathribal, Brakpora and Chatisinghpora victims; Down with AFSPA.”
“We want all these three incidents to be probed by an international agency as they are interconnected,” said the protesters adding that they don’t expect justice from State agencies.
People also offered Fateh Khwani for the Pathribal and Brakpora victims.
“It took eight persons to die for the government to exhume bodies of five persons dubbed as foreign militants for DNA examination,” says Rashid. Rashid’s father Juma Khan is buried alongside his younger son in a graveyard of the village dedicated for the victims of Pathribal and Brakpora.
While 35 Sikhs were killed by unidentified gunmen wearing Army fatigues on the evening of March 20, 2000, five persons picked from different areas of Islamabad district by Army were killed in Pathribal village on March 25, 2000. A protest demonstration against the Pathribal fake encounter was fired upon by police and CRPF men at Brakpora village on April 3, 2000, when it was heading towards Deputy Commissioner’s office demanding exhumation of the bodies for DNA tests. Eight persons were killed and many injured in the firing.
The CBI, which probed the Pathribal incident on the directions of the Supreme Court of India, described the killings as cold blood murders and indicted five Indian army officers in its report. But an Indian army court in June last year gave clean chit to its accused officials. An Army court on January 23, 2014 closed the case eight years after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charged the personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), for murder of five innocent civilians in Pathribal area in 2000.
Rashid Khan, son of one of the victims Juma Khan said the meeting had been organised “to convey to the killers and those who shield them that ‘we have not forgotten’.”
The relatives of the victims in a media interview reiterated their commitment for continuing the struggle to bring the killer Indian troops to justice.
Rashid Khan, son of one of the victims in a media interview reiterated his commitment to continue struggle for bringing the killer Indian troops to justice.
Rashid Khan’s father Juma Khan, 42, a laborer by profession from Brari Aangan village, was one among the five civilians killed in a fake encounter on March 25, 2000.
He said that though they felt dejected after the Army closed the case but for them verdict was expected as they never expected justice from Indian Army.
“How can you expect justice from those who are themselves the perpetrators of the crime? But we will not give up,” vowed Rashid Khan.
He also sought the intervention of international human rights organizations to bring the culprits to book.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League (JKML) has paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of Pathribal fake encounter on their 15 martyrdom anniversary.
Brigadier Ajay Saxena, Lt Col Brajendra Pratap Singh, Major Sourabh Sharma, Major Amit Saxena and Subedar Idrees Khan were charge-sheeted by the CBI in 2006 for killing five civilians and later dubbing them as foreign militants.
All the accused were acquitted by the Army court in January 2014 citing lack of evidence.
Brakpora Killings
On April 03, 2000, as the people were getting increasingly restless as no action was being taken with regard to the Pathribal encounter, they decided to present a memorandum before the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Islamabad (Anantnag) and an estimated 5000 protesters started marching towards the DC office.
However on reaching Brakpora village, some 3 kilometers from Islamabad (Anantnag) town, the Indian paramilitary Central Resere Police Force (CRPF) men posted at a nearby camp and Special Operations Group (SOG) opened fire on the protesters killing 7 and injuring another 15, two of whom succumbed later, taking the toll to nine.