Qayoom Khan

Pulwama, Mar 19 : Students at a local higher secondary school here in Rahmoo village of this south Kashmir district complain the institute lacks several subjects, making them to suffer a lot.

They said the Government Higher Secondary Rahmoo Pulwama was upgraded from high school to higher secondary in 2003; however, the school still lacks many crucial subjects like Commerce, Islamic Studies, Environmental Science, Geography and Physical Education.

Over 300 students enrolled in the school are unable to choose the subjects of their choice due to lack of these streams. They have to opt for the subjects in utter urgency.

The students from the area have to go to the schools at far-off places to choose the subjects of their choice.

They also complained that the schools at other places do not give admissions to them citing the reason that they have a higher secondary school in their area.

We are suffering a lot, the students said.

Meanwhile, the Higher Secondary Sambora Pulwama, and the Higher Secondary Ratnipora, Pulwama are headless.

The parents and their wards have urged the administration to fill the vacancies of the principals in these schools.

When contacted, Director Education Mohammad Younis Malik said he will look into the matter and assured that the issues will be resolved. (GNS)

Srinagar, March 19 : A youth from Awantipora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, was allegedly killed in police custody on Tuesday after he was held in connection with some militancy related case.

Official sources told GNS that Rizwan Asad Pandit, principal of a private school—Sabir Abdullah Jobwarara Awantipora, died in police custody at Srinagar during the intervening night of March 18 and 19.

A police officer also confirmed the death of Rizwan and said that he had been arrested for questioning in connection with some militancy related case.

“In this matter, while following the procedure laid down in section 176 of CrPC a magisterial inquiry is underway,” the officer said. Separately, police investigation has also been initiated in the jurisdictional area of incident, he said.  

Talking to GNS, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh said action in the case “would be as per the findings of magisterial proceedings.”

A spontaneous shutdown was observed Awantipora, the native place of the slain in south Kashmir and Old city of Srinagar amid clashes.

Reports said that as soon as news about the death of the Rizwan spread, clashes erupted in Awantipora, and adjoining areas along with several parts of Old City here in Srinagar.

Reports said that all shops and other commercial establishments remained closed in these areas while traffic was off the roads.

An eyewitness said thousands of people were waiting for his body at his home in Awantipora.

The “custodial killing” has been condemned by mainstream leaders including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Sajjad Lone, who heads Peoples conference, the former ally BJP, as well as Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.   

“I had hoped custodial deaths were a thing of our dark past. This is an unacceptable development & must be investigated in a transparent, time-bound manner. Exemplary punishment must be handed out to the killers of this young man,’ Omar tweeted.

Sajjad Lone condemned in “strongest terms the death in police custody in Srinagar”. “This is what the sanctity of human life has been reduced to in Kashmir. My thoughts r (are) with the family of the deceased,” Lone wrote on Twitter.

Former finance minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari demanded a time-bound probe into the “extrajudicial killing”.

“It is highly unfortunate that a young man, teacher by profession, has lost his life in police custody and it needs to be thoroughly investigated to know what went wrong and who are responsible for his death in custody,” Bukhari demanded, in a statement.

He said, at a time when the police had to learn to behave responsibly and sensitively such sad incidents only add to the prevailing mistrust among the people with the system which nobody in a civilized society can afford.

Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday said that the custodial killing of a school teacher has once again exposed the “helplessness” of the people of Kashmir.

“Distraught at the brutal custodial killing of young Rizwan Ahmed of Awantipora. The brutal killing once again exposes the, helplessness, vulnerability and insecurity of the lives of Kashmiri’s as impunity to the authorities keeps rising. (sic),” Mirwaiz wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Kashmir University students on Tuesday afternoon staged a protest against the custodial death of the Principal and offered funeral in absentia. They also protested summon to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (M).

The protesting students were carrying banners which read: “Stop harassment of our leaders, NIA summon to Mirwaiz is not acceptable.”

Raising slogans, the students marched inside the varsity premises to register their protest. The protesting students were demanding an impartial probe into the custodial death of school principal.

Meanwhile, in wake of the death, the authorities of Islamic University Awantipora have closed the varsity for the precautionary measures. The varsity has also suspended the class work and postponed all examinations scheduled on Wednesday. A varsity official said that the fresh dates will be notified later.

On Tuesday, the class work at IUST remained suspended while exams were also postponed.

The decision to suspend the class work was taken as a precautionary measure to avoid law and order situation, said the official. The train services from south Kashmir to Baramulla has been also suspended for tomorrow, according to railway authorities. (GNS)

Qayoom Khan

Srinagar, March 19 : The magisterial inquiry into the “custodial death” of a 28-year old private school Principal is going to end up as a farce like numerous other such probes ordered by authorities over the past decades, the victim’s family said on Tuesday.

Rizwan Asad Pandit (29), a resident of Awantipora area of Pulwama district, was killed during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday after he was picked up by police from his home two days ago, his brother told reporters.

Pandit, was Principal at a private school namely Sabir Abdullah Jobwarara Awantipora.

“They laid a cordon during the night and whisked him away and told us not to mention anything about the arrest to anyone. When we asked the concerned police station about his whereabouts next day, they said the matter was out of their hands as he had been shifted to Cargo,” he said.

“We came to know this morning that they had killed him in custody,” he said.

“We know the fate of investigations ordered over all these years into killings. We know nothing is going to come out of this investigation as well,” he said. 

The civil administration ordered a magisterial inquiry under Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to ascertain the cause and circumstances leading to Pandit’s death.

Meanwhile, a police spokesman said Rizwan was picked up in connection with a “terror case” and had died in police custody.

“In pursuance of terror case investigation, one suspect Rizwan Pandit resident of Awantipora was in police custody. The said person died in police custody. In this matter while following the procedure laid down in section 176 of CrPC a magisterial inquiry is underway. Separately, police investigation has also been initiated in the jurisdictional area of incident,” the spokesman said. (GNS)

Awantipora, Mar 19, :  Rizwan Asad Pandit, a resident of Awantipora, who died in police custody came on the radar of security agencies following the Fidayeen attack on CRPF Training Centre in Lehthpora on 31 December 2017. Two local Fidayeen militants from militant outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad and five CRPF personnel were killed in that attack. 

  Since that attack, Rizwan was arrested, interrogated and released from time to time. Security agencies believed he was a militant sympathizer and an OGW of Jaish-e-Muhammad militant outfit. Rizwan was an MSc, a school Principal and a former guest lecturer at Islamic University of Science and Technology. As the news about his death spread, authorities closed the University to stop possible protests. 

   Thousands of people visited his residence to express sympathies with the family at Awantipora that witnessed violent clashes and shutdown on Tuesday. 

 Sources told news agency that his name figured among the list of suspects when National Investigating Agency (NIA) started probe into deadly suicide attack in Lethpora that left over 40 troopers’ dead. A day before his death Rizwan according to his family was picked up by Forces while local police informed them he is lodged in Cargo for questioning and they can’t do anything in the matter.

   “Rizwan was a free man from past 2 months. He was busy in his daily routine work when a day before his death a police team cordoned off our house and detained him. Police advised us not to communicate with anyone about this arrest as he will be released after questioning. Later, they informed us that Rizwan is in the custody of Special Operation Group at Cargo Srinagar and today news of his custodial death horrified us,” said Zulqarnain, the brother of the deceased. 

   Rizwan had been shifted to Kot Balwal Jail Jammu under Public Safety Act. “The court quashed his PSA yet he was kept in a police station for 15 days without any FIR. We don’t know what prompted the killers to kill him in this way,” he added. (CNS)