KD NEWS SERVICE

SRINAGAR, Mar 19: A private school teacher died on Tuesday allegedly in the custody of  Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police in Srinagar. Official sources said that a youth identified as Rizwan Asad Pandit, a resident of Awantipora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district was picked up by National Investigations Agency (NIA) a few days ago and was lodged in the Cargo camp of SOG in Srinagar.

A teacher by profession, Pandit has reportedly died during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday (March 18, 19). However, there were no immediate reports of circumstances in which the teacher has died. A local news gatherer, GNS has quoted police saying that they have requested for magisterial inquiry under 176 CrPC to initiate the thorough probe for ascertaining the actual cause of death. Besides, it said, the police have also ordered a separate inquiry to probe the incident. Meanwhile, in wake of the death, the authorities of Islamic University Awantipora have closed the varsity as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police issued a statement regarding the death of an Awantipora youth in custody today. The police spokesman said that in pursuance of militancy case investigation, one suspect Rizwan Pandit, a resident of Awantipora in south Kashmir, was in police custody. The said Pandit 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 the incident, police said.

On the other side, intense clashes erupted on Tuesday in Awantipora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district amid a spontaneous shutdown following the custodial death of a local school teacher. Reports said that all shops and other commercial establishments remained closed in the area while traffic went off the roads soon after news of death of Rizwan Pandit reached there. An eye witness said thousands of people were waiting for his body at his home in Awantipora. Meanwhile, authorities have suspended the Internet service as a “precautionary measure” in the area. Pandit, who was arrested by the police in a militancy-related case, died in police custody at CARGO camp in Srinagar last night, a spokesman said in a statement.

Parts of Downtown Srinagar on Tuesday also witnessed a spontaneous shutdown in the wake of custodial death of a south Kashmir teacher. Eyewitnesses said majority of downtown areas and Maisuma in uptown Srinagar observed spontaneous shutdown soon after the news of custodial killing spread in the Valley. He said that the shopkeepers downed their shutters in Nowhatta, Gojwara, Rajouri Kadal, Hawal and Khanyar after announcements were made over the public address system of the Jamia Masjid asking people to observe shutdown. Similarly, shutdown was also observed in Maisuma area of uptown Srinagar as well.

Srinagar, March 19: Former finance minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday demanded a time bound probe into the extra judicial killing of Awantipora resident who according to reports was arrested by police and died in custody at Srinagar.

Expressing serious concern over the incident, Bukhari expressed his heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul.

“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.

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. Bukhari said that authorities especially the Honb’le courts and the National Human Rights Commission have already set out detailed procedures to prevent and punish police use of torture and ill-treatment.

“However, such incidents of torture wherein suspects are punished to gather information is totally unacceptable in light of the laid down rules by the Honb’le Supreme Court.”

The former finance minster remarked that police abuse reflects a failure of any regime at the helms of affairs to implement accountability mechanisms.

“Despite strict guidelines in place, the authorities in Kashmir routinely fail to conduct foolproof investigations and prosecute police officials implicated in torture and ill-treatment of arrested persons. Police investigators often close cases relying solely on the accounts of the implicated police officers. This unfortunate trend that has grown mistrust among people in probes needs to be done away with,” Bukhari observed.

He added: “In a democratic set-up we live in, the police must follow proper arrest procedures—including documenting the arrest, notifying family members, conducting medical examinations, and producing the suspect before a magistrate within 24 hours as has been directed by the Honb’le Supreme Court.”

When these procedures are not followed in letter and spirit, Bukhari said the suspects become more vulnerable to abuse and may have contributed to a belief by some officials in police department that any mistreatment with the inmates could be ‘covered up’.

Bukhari said that the guilty in the custodial killing case of Awantipora resident need to be immediately identified, arrested and brought to justice so that punishment given by the Honb’le courts in this case becomes deterrence and prevent others from committing such heinous crimes in future.