INDIA: CIVILIANS KILLED IN THE AFTERMATH OF POONCH TERROR ATTACK WERE TORTURED TO DEATH, ALLEGE FAMILIES

Sat 23 December 2023:

New Delhi: The families of three tribal men from Poonch have alleged that they were tortured to death by the Army after the attack in which five soldiers lost their lives earlier this week.

The alleged custodial killing of the three civilians identified as Safeer Hussain, 37, Mohammed Showkat, 26 and Shabir Ahmed, 32, all residents of Topa Mastandara village in Poonch district, had triggered protests on Friday.

Speaking with The Wire, Sarpanch of Topa Mastandara, Mehmood Ahmed, said that the slain persons were among eight persons who were detained by the Army from their residences in the aftermath of the deadly attack.

Locals and families of the deceased alleged that they were tortured to death by the Army. “The army men picked up several civilians from their homes on Friday morning besides summoning a few of them to their camp over the phone,” said Muhammad Siddique, uncle of Showkat, the youngest among the three dead civilians.

Siddique, who is also Panch of the locality, said that he rang up several local politicians and officials to help them in getting them released from custody after they were detained. “I told them that they are being beaten up but nobody came to their rescue,” he said.

The Wire couldn’t independently verify his claim. He said they were mercilessly killed by Army men in the Mall post camp. “When we asked officials why they were killed? They told us that they have been killed due to their ‘mistake’,” he said.

He said that the dead bodies were handed over to them at around 8 am today for last rites.

“They are not allowing anybody, including the media, to enter the village. They have deployed CRPF men in large strength in the locality. This is the height of injustice,” he said.

Siddique said they were innocent and had not even remote links with any subversive activity.

GRAPHIC WARNING ⚠️

Indian Army torturing Kashmiri civilians in #Poonch after an attack on soldiers. #PoonamPandey | #Kashmir #Rajouriencounter pic.twitter.com/KrtBdL1bYm

— The Voice of Justice (@hrw_NDA) December 23, 2023

“There is nothing adverse against them. There is not even an application against them in the police station,” he said.

Noor Ahmad, brother of deceased Safeer Hussain, said that he was detained by Army men from his home on Friday. “We were shocked to know in the evening that they had been killed. They have been killed in custody,” he said.

Noor said that he was not in a position to talk. “I am in shock. I will talk to you after the funeral prayers are over,” he told The Wire.

A few purported video clips of the detained men being tortured show army soldiers spraying chilli powder on their buttocks.“Gand Mein Dal Es Ko Mirchi (Put chilli in his anus),” one soldier can be heard saying in the video.

Indian forces have not only brutally beaten up Kashmir civilians but also pouring chili powder on their wounds- 3 Kashmiris dead. Modi has responded by suspending internet in Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/ZJ40Mynmab

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) December 23, 2023

The video also shows a young boy, who is lying motionless on the ground while another man can be seen moving his hands helplessly before being stripped and sprayed with chilli powder.

Another video shows army soldiers pushing and beating up a man with what looks like a plastic cane while he is pleading with them to spare him. An army man could be seen sitting with jackboots on the arms of a civilian lying motionless on the ground.

The Wire couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of these videos.

Mobile internet has been suspended in Poonch district following the alleged custodial deaths. Preparations are underway to conduct their last rites with top officials of civil and police administration rushing to the area while restrictions have been imposed to avoid any law and order disturbances.

“I couldn’t visit their village because there are restrictions here. But I have been told that the five other civilians are admitted in the army hospital. We are preparing to conduct the last rites of the deceased,” Rafiq, the Sarpanch, said.

He added: “They were all labourers who struggled to make a living. I guarantee that they were not involved in any illegal activities. It is tragic,” he said.

Speaking with The Wire, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, said that he was gathering details about how the civilians died. “We are collecting details, will share it later,” Kumar said.

With a population of around 200-250 population comprising largely Gujjar and Bakkerwal tribes, the village of Topa Mastandara is situated in the higher reaches of Dera Ki Gali-Bufliaz axis where two Army vehicles were ambushed earlier this week. The village is locally famous for hosting the shrine of Topa Peer, a Sufi saint.

The attack was claimed by the Peoples Anti-Fascist Front, which officials believe is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad. The attackers had mutilated the bodies of two soldiers and decamped with rifles of some of the slain soldiers, prompting massive searches in the area.

Two more soldiers were injured in the attack and their condition is believed to be stable.

Authorities have shut down a strategic road connecting Poonch and Rajouri districts to scale up the search operations. Choppers have been pressed into service to carry out surveillance sorties while hi-tech gadgetry has been activated to trace the attackers who are believed to be hiding in the dense forests in Surankote, which falls along the Line of Control.

Director General of J&K Police, R R Swain, General Officer Commanding (GoC), XVI Corps, Lt Gen Sandeep Jain and a team of the National Investigation Agency visited the site of the attack in Poonch on Friday.

Poonch and Rajouri districts are part of the Pir Panjal region in the Jammu division which has witnessed a dramatic spike in militancy-related incidents in the years after the Union government read down Article 370 and downgraded the erstwhile state into two union territories.

While violence has subsided in Kashmir valley after years of shutdowns, clashes and encounters involving civilians, militants and security forces, the theatre of insurgency has shifted to the Pir Panjal region where 24 militants were killed this year while 21 army soldiers also laid down their lives.

At least 10 civilians have also been killed in conflict-related violence in the twin districts this year so far.

According to official data, 124 people, including 83 militants and 28 security personnel have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir due to the prevailing security situation this year.

Among the deceased are two army and police officers, including a Colonel and a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who lost their lives in the week-long Kokernag encounter in south Kashmir earlier this year.

In 2020, three labourers from Rajouri district were killed in a staged gun battle by the Army in Amshipora village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district and passed off as terrorists, reportedly for cash reward and quick promotion.

According to a police investigation, an Army Captain identified as Bhoopendra Singh alias Major Basheer Khan had abducted the three young men in a private car from their rented accommodation at Chowgam Shopian, killed them and later planted “illegal weapons and material on their dead bodies and tried to tag them as hardcore terrorists.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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