Poonch horror: 3 civilians die in army custody. Were they tortured?

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Srinagar: Three civilians died in the Indian army’s custody in Topa Pir village in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.

The men belong to the Gujjar community, who are pastoral nomads and a Scheduled Tribe (ST).

The three men have been identified as Mohammad Showkat (22), Safeer Hussain (45) and Shabir Ahmad (32).

The incident was preceded by militants killing four soldiers near the village on Thursday. The men are alleged to have been picked up in the wee hours of Friday and tortured to death in “revenge killings".

Five other civilians are said to have been detained and tortured and are recovering in an army hospital. The family of the deceased claimed that the bodies of the victims bore signs of torture.

Noor Ahmed, the brother of Safeer Hussain, one of the victims, has served in the Border Security Force (BSF) for more than three decades. An unverified video has surfaced online, which shows chilli powder being sprinkled on the victims.

The videos were met with outrage by locals, which has led to authorities suspending mobile internet, a measure to stop news from spreading so as to prevent protests.

The incident has made even pro-India parties such as People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) stage protests in the capital Srinagar.

PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti said that the acquittal of a soldier back in November in the killing of three civilians in a staged battle in Rajouri district back in 2020 had emboldened security personnel.

Probe promised

The Indian army said it has launched an investigation into the deaths, adding that action had been initiated but refused to specify against whom.

“Reports have been received regarding three civilian deaths in the area. The matter is under investigation. Indian Army stands committed to extending full support and cooperation in the conduct of investigations,” the Indian army posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The New Delhi-based Information and Public Relations Department has promised ex-gratia and government jobs to the next of kin of the victims.

AFSPA immunity decried

Army personnel enjoy immunity from prosecution under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), human rights activists have pointed out.

Under the “counter-terrorism” law, no soldier can be tried unless sanction is granted by the Defence Ministry, which has never happened.

The Apex Court recently upheld the Centre’s abolition of article 370, which had given limited autonomy to the disputed region. Back in 2019, the Centre had abolished article 35 a, which had prevented outsiders from buying land in J&K, besides bifurcating the state into two union territories.

Since then, there has been no elected government in J&K and civil rights space is alleged to be shrinking further.