Brussels, January 09, 2020 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, a family has now moved the High Court, seeking an FIR and investigation on their son’s death. On August 05, 2019, few hours after Modi government’s decision to scrap Kashmir’s special status and divide it into two union territories, the territory witnessed its first causality of a 17-year-old boy and a Class XI student, Osaib Altaf, from Palpora locality of Srinagar city.
As the Internet and mobile services were shut down, the media houses couldn’t gather the details on ground, so the authorities decided not to acknowledge his death, according to the family. According to his family, Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police personnel chased Osaib in Srinagar’s Parimpora area few miles from his home.
Osaib’s father, Altaf Ahmad Marazi in a media interview in Srinagar said, “Eyewitnesses told me that his son was cornered by forces, closing in on him from two sides and then his head was smashed with gun butts after that he fell in Jhelum River and got drowned.”
Over five months have passed since then but the family is still struggling to prove that their son is dead and the Indian agencies are responsible for it. The authorities categorically refused to accept that any such death has occurred thus refused to register First Information Report (FIR).
The Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS), where the deceased was taken, didn’t issue death certificate to the family as the hospital authorities are seeking a copy of the FIR that police refused to register. “First of all I want to prove that my son is dead and for that I have approached the court. I want to get an FIR registered in the concerned police station and that can be done only if the court directs,” says Altaf, a taxi driver.
Altaf says he and his family keep doing rounds to the court since August to seek an FIR. In its initial report submitted to the court on 27th October, the Parimpora police station asserted that they don’t have any information regarding the death of Osaib Altaf, says Advocate Shah Faisal who is helping the family with this case. Faisal argued in the court that police were dodging the court and had issued confusing reports.
Advocate Shah Faisal says, in the next hearing the court sought in-person appearance of concerned police officer and asked him to submit a fresh report regarding the case. In their 2nd report the police accepted that they had fished out a body but the area didn’t fall under their jurisdiction.
The family said police even fired on the funeral prayers of their son where many people were injured. “One of our neighbours was hit by bullet in his arm and another was hit by bullet in throat, still police are saying no death occurred,” says Altaf. “Then who is in the grave? Then where is my son? It’s police that killed Osaib and now they refuse to acknowledge it,” says Osaib’s father.
In its complaint filed before the court, the counsel argued that the deceased was beaten ruthlessly by the Indian forces personnel on 5th August while playing a footfall match near Parimpora.
The complaint said that the deceased was given a severe blow on the back of his head with gun butt by the Indian forces and he fell half-unconscious, ran towards Jehlum River to hide himself in the bushes at the bank of the river.
“After that some forces’ personnel went towards the river and gave a strong blow with stick to the hand of deceased as a result of which he fell into the river, got drowned and consequently died the same day,” Faisal writes in the complaint. The court has listed the next hearing on February 03, 2020.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org
PPI News Agency