Srinagar: Family members and relatives of a youth from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, who was recently awarded life sentence by a special NIA court in Delhi, Wednesday staged a protest here to press for his release.
A special NIA court in Delhi had on Monday sentenced five Kashmir residents to life imprisonment and one to five years’ rigorous imprisonment in a terror case. The count said had said the six of them will part of a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group and were involved in a terror conspiracy.
The protesting family members and relatives of one Mehraj-ud-din Chopan, son of Late Ghulam Rasool Chopan of Handoora, Pulwama, appealed to the Center and the UT administration to release him on “humanitarian basis”.
Chopan was convicted for life imprisonment (rigorous) and fine under section 121 A, 120 B IPC, 18, 38, 39 UA(P) Act and sections 4, 5 of Explosives Substances Act.
Chanting slogans “LG Sahab have mercy on troubled family, do justice with minor kids”, a group of women who claimed to be the family members and relatives of convict, appeared at the Press Enclave here this afternoon and staged a protest to seek release of their kin.
“He (Chopan) was picked up by the police during a raid from his home in 2018. He was taken to the concerned police station, and subsequently shifted to KotBhalwal jail in Jammu and later to Delhi’s Tihar jail. We haven’t seen him since,” the relatives said.
They said he is the lone bread-earner in the family of 10 including his aged mother, four unmarred sisters, wife and two minor kids.
“We appeal to the administration to have pity on our family and release our brother on humanitarian basis,” Shameema, his sister told reporters.
She appealed to the Center and the UT government to forgive her brother “if he has done any mistake and release him for the sake of humanity”.
“I humbly appeal to the LG Sahib to have pity on my minor kids; there is no one to take care of them. I was crestfallen the moment our counsel informed us that my husband was awarded life imprisonment by the court,” said the convict’s wife, adding the condition of her family is really pathetic ever-since her husband was arrested four years ago.
