Srinagar/Jammu: While Jammu and Kashmir is seen inching towards normality with fewer violent incidents, two deaths/killings in both regions of J&K have opened a pandora box with people questioning whether the lives of people here matter anymore.
A truck driver from Sopore was killed in a firing incident after he allegedly ignored a security forces’ checkpoint (Naka) in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday.
The incident occurred when a vehicle carrying apple boxes was signalled to stop at the Naka set up by security forces in Baramulla. The vehicle, however, failed to comply with the order, following which the security forces opened fire, resulting in injuries to the driver, who was shifted to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, officials said.
The driver has been identified as Waseem Majeed Mir (35), son of Abdul Majeed Mir, resident of Goripora Darpora Bomai Sopore. His family members and relatives on Thursday said that Waseem was innocent and had never taken part in any anti-national activity. They said the authorities must make the CCTV footage viral so that everything will come to light. They have sought the attention of higher authorities and demanded a thorough investigation and justice in this regard.
Meanwhile, amid claims that a Gujjar youth was tortured in police custody and died by suicide hours later, the district administration and the police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua have ordered enquiries into the alleged incident.
On Wednesday, Kathua District Magistrate Dr Rakesh Minhas ordered a magisterial enquiry into the death of Makhan Din, a Gujjar youth from the district’s Billawar area.
Police maintain Din died by suicide at home by consuming insecticide on Tuesday evening.
The DM has appointed Anil Kumar, tehsildar, Lohai Malhar, to conduct an enquiry to ascertain the cause of death and submit a “detailed report within five days”. “Needless to mention here that he shall take statements of all relevant persons and adopt all requisite procedures under relevant rules,” the DM’s order read.
The order followed a post on X by PDP chief and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti that read: “Shocking news from Kathua: Makhan Din, aged 25 from Perody, Billawar, was detained by the SHO of Billawar on false charges of being an Over Ground Worker (OGW). He was reportedly subjected to brutal thrashing and torture, forced into a confession, and tragically found dead today. The area has been sealed off, and internet services have been cut, leading to widespread panic. There’s an ongoing crackdown, with more individuals being picked up.”
“This incident appears to follow a troubling pattern of targeting innocent youths on fabricated charges. I urge the DGP, J&K Police, to initiate an immediate investigation,” she wrote.
The Jammu and Kashmir police also have taken note of the incident. “Senior officers have ordered a departmental enquiry, which will be conducted by Shiv Kumar Sharma, DIG, Jammu-Samba-Kathua Range,” a police statement said.
“The enquiry officer has been directed to submit his report at the earliest to higher-ups,” it said, asking people not to pay heed to rumours and to cooperate with the police.
Denying the charge of custodial killing, police said the deceased is the nephew of a Pakistan-based militant, Swar Din alias Swaru Gujjar.
The police claimed he had been helping a group that attacked an Army convoy at Badnota, in which four soldiers were killed in July 2024.
“There was no custodial torture or injury. He was questioned and then got exposed, went home and committed suicide,” the police statement read.
But the locals question that if he had confessed to his crime, why was he released.
A senior officer said Din was picked up for questioning earlier too about his alleged militant links. The officer claimed Din was let go from the police station to bring his mobile phone from home. However, on reaching home, he allegedly consumed insecticide, the officer said.
Following his death, senior district officials went to Din’s residence and assured his family of a fair and transparent investigation.
Dr Rameshwar Singh, the MLA from Bani, was quoted by news agencies saying, that Din was picked up by police along with his 65-year-old father from their home at Perody village near Billawar town on Tuesday night.
The MLA alleged the father and son were tortured at the police station the entire night. In the morning, Din was allowed to go home, and after some time, Murid was also let off.
The MLA claimed Din had made a video of himself at a local mosque before committing suicide on Tuesday evening. As per the MLA, Din said in the video that he had been tortured and forced to confess to militant links.
“I have contacted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and narrated to him the entire episode,” he said.
About Baramulla killing, officials said that based on a very specific intelligence input about the movement of terrorists, a Mobile Vehicle Check Post (MVCP) was established by Security Forces. One speeding suspicious civil truck was spotted. When challenged, the truck didn’t stop despite repeated warnings (and) instead accelerated further while crossing the check post,” the statement said.
The troops pursued the vehicle for over 23 km, the army said. “Shots were fired aiming (at) tyres to deflate, which forced (the) vehicle to halt at Sangrama Chowk. Consequent to detailed search, the injured driver was immediately evacuated to GMC Baramulla by Security Forces where he was declared dead”.
But the family of the slain driver, however, questioned the army’s version of the incident and demanded that they release CCTV footage of the incident. Significantly, there are several security camps and security check posts on the stretch.
According to Mir’s cousin Abdul Rashid, Mir had left home at 10 pm Wednesday with a truck full of apple boxes and was heading towards Srinagar. It was a co-driver who alerted them of Mir’s death.
“If the army is telling the truth, let them share the CCTV footage with us. There is a CCTV camera installed on every security force vehicle,” Mir’s cousin Abdul Rashid said. “They (army) are saying they chased him for 23 km. There are many (security) camps on this stretch and every camp has CCTV cameras installed on the roads… Let them show it to us to satisfy us”.
He claimed there were “contradictions in the statements made by the police and the army”.
“How could they chase him for 23 km when the distance between his home and the place where the incident happened is less than 16 km? The army says they chased him for 23 km but the SP sahib told us he was chased for 35 km. We also want to know when he had to go to Srinagar, why was the vehicle in the (opposite) direction, going to Baramulla. His clothes were in the dirt. We want to know if they had beaten or tortured him before killing,” he said.
A doctor at the Baramulla Hospital said Mir was brought in by the Army at 1 pm. “He had a single bullet injury with both entry and exit wounds. The nature of injury suggested that he was shot at from close range,” he said.
Another relative too echoed this. “The bullet had hit his armpit and had exited from the other side. If the army had aimed at the tyres or the vehicle, the bullet couldn’t have hit his armpit,” this relative said.
The oldest of four siblings, Mir is survived by his daily wager father, a homemaker mother, three brothers and a married sister.
Omar Abdullah
“I have seen the reports of excessive use of force & harassment of Makhan Din in police custody in Billawar leading to his suicide and the death of Waseem Ahmed Malla, shot by the army under circumstances that are not entirely clear. Both these incidents are highly unfortunate and should not have happened. J&K will never be completely normalised and free of terror without the cooperation of & partnership with the local population. Incidents like these risk alienating the very people who we need to carry with us on the road to complete normalcy. I have taken up these incidents with the Union Government & insisted that both incidents are inquired into in a time bound, transparent manner. The Government in J&K will also order its own inquiries.”
Iltija Mufti
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti termed chasing a truck for 23 kilometres very strange and questioned how the fire hit the driver if the army fired upon the tires of the truck.
“Shocking that after a civilian killing in Kathua dubbed as an ‘OGW’, another civilian from Sopore was shot dead by the army. How strange that after chasing the truck for over 23 km, they claim to have fired at the tires but somehow misfired at him instead. Are Kashmiri lives so cheap? How long will you justify this unbridled impunity by pointing everyone with the needle of suspicion?” Mufti wrote on X.
M Y Tarigami
Strongly condemning the killing of a truck driver in Army firing in Sopore after he allegedly ignored the soldiers’ signal to stop. The unfortunate incident could have been easily prevented with a more cautious approach instead of a trigger-happy response.
In another shocking incident, a 25-year-old man died after allegedly being subjected to brutal torture by the police in Billawar, Jammu. Both incidents must be thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability and bringing the culprits to justice, Tarigami posted on X.
Sajad Lone
Killing is a killing irrespective of the source or the context. The killing of the truck driver is a murder. And it being executed by security forces makes it even more heinous. This is a symptom. Malaise lies deeper and is uglier And the malaise is contempt and disregard for Kashmiri lives. Plain and simple, Sajad Lone posted on X.
Taking a dig on CM’s claim of probing the incident, Lone posted: “CM sahib has promised that the elected government too will order an inquiry into the killings. Please clarify. Who will probe. CM sahib is only incharge of civilian departments. Even if we had a state, the max we would have would be police. The killings have taken place at the hands of the military establishment. And police as we saw during the turmoil was subservient to military establishment and all central covert agencies Do you mean that not the traditionally subservient police —but a civilian department will probe the military establishment. Will it have the autonomy and the authority to probe military establishment. Did we ever have that authority. Has it ever happened in the past when we had internal autonomy, when we had 370. If it never happened then how can it happen when we are a UT. Why are we lying? Who are we trying to protect ? Same old beaten track. Song and dance performance. Cacophonous din. And the din will drown all other noises.
