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Yasin sees victimhood, police justifies action

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 12/4/2017 1:47:35 PM

SRINAGAR, Dec 3: Continuous detention under public safety act (PSA) of a physically challenged person has led to a debate between JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and police.
Malik in a statement had stated that execution of arbitrary laws like PSA on a differently-able person is a glaring example of mental bankruptcy of rulers. “How can a man who is not able to walk two steps on his feet be implicated in stone pelting cases and sent to jail on PSA,” he said.
JKLF chairman termed the repeated execution of PSA on Tanveer Ahmad War of Baramulla as brazen act of hardheartedness of rulers, their police and civil administration. “On November 27, I was arrested and shifted to central jail Srinagar. In jail I saw a differently-able person walking on sticks and thought that he may be in jail for some civil case. I was informed by other inmates that the person was not in jail for some domestic or civil case but for being involved with the resistance movement,” he said.
JKLF chairman said he met the person who “revealed a horrific tale of torture and apathy he had to go through at the hands of police and other forces from last one year or so.”
“This differently-able person told me that he is a handicapped person since his childhood as polio had damaged his legs in early childhood. From that time he has not been able to walk even two steps on his foot. He was taken into custody by police on September 21, 2016 on the charges of pelting stones on forces and o police and despite being handicapped he was tortured severely in police custody. After about two months of illegal confinement, he was slapped with PSA and sent to jail. He challenged PSA in high-court and court quashed his PSA and ordered his release. He was hoping to be released by police on court orders but suddenly was served with another PSA order and shifted to Kotbalwal jail from where he has now been shifted to central jail Srinagar and is languishing there,” Malik said.
JKLF chairman alleged that the authorities have stooped so low that they neither are able to see any differently-able person nor feel any shame while sending an ailing person to jail even from a hospital bed. “As person who has never walked two steps on his feet and is handicapped since childhood is being kept in jail for stone pelting. We want to ask rulers and their police and civil administration that how a person who moves with the help of sticks can throw stones on forces and police. I appeal to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), Amnesty International, Asia Watch and other international human rights organizations to take note of these gruesome acts of human rights abuses,” he added.
A police spokesman, while reacting to Malik’s statement said, “The accused was actively involved in 2016 unrest in old town Baramulla who had been moving around on the tricycle provided to him earlier by Army as a goodwill gesture. He spearheaded violent mob violence in Baramulla town pushing young boys on forefront of trouble endangering their lives. He would decorate his tricycle with Pakistani flags and make announcements from public address systems instigating people for violence.”
He alleged that on one occasion Tanvir with the help of “his gang hijacked four tippers loaded with stones and got them unloaded on roads of old town Baramulla to block these roads so that police was prevented to act against the miscreants.” “Moreover this person has been continuously involved in instigating and engineering violence in Baramulla since 2008. In year 2008 he compelled and forced Sheikh Aziz to lead the procession who at the advice of many stakeholders wanted to return from Sheeri Baramulla. The accused who was atop a truck threatened the slain leader with dire consequences and told him if he could march ahead with disabilities, what excuse had the leader had? This person despite his disability has been making good use of his tricycle to travel and headed a gang of stone-pelters who would help him in undertaking his antisocial activities,” the spokesman said.
He alleged that Tanvir is involved in 16 cases of instigating and engineering mob and street violence.