Kashmir – Hearing of the Public Interest Petition on the Mass Rapes at Kunan Poshpora #Vaw

Two days in the Srinagar High Court: Shrimoyee Nandini Ghosh

May 10, 2013

 

 by SHRIMOYEE NANDINI GHOSH, 

Impressions of the Hearing of the Public Interest Petition on the Mass Rapes at  Kunan Poshpora

Day 1: 7^th May 2013: I happen to be in Srinagar. I hear through a friend that a Public Interest Petition has been filed by a group of fifty odd Kashmiri women, before the Srinagar Bench of the High Court, asking that the Kunan Poshpora mass rape case be reopened, and re-investigated. It would take a group of very odd women indeed, to ask for something so far fetched. They are students, housewives, teachers, doctors, some of whom were not even born in 1991, when the rape took place on the ‘intervening night’ (as such records always read) of the 23^rd and 24^th of February during a ‘search and cordon’ operation by personnel of the Indian army.

An FIR [FIR no.10/1991, Trehgam Police Station] about the incident was filed. On 21^st of October, 1991 according to police, in RTI applications, and before the State Human Rights Commission, the case was closed as ‘untraced’, (as such records always read). Some survivors andfamily members approached the State Human Rights Commission, seeking relief. The SHRC took suo moto cognisance of the case as well, and passed an order on the 19^th of October, 2011 recommending that the case be reopened and re-investigated, that the survivors be given a ‘minimum compensation’ of at least Rupees 2 lakhs, that the Director of Prosecutions and other government and administrative officers responsible for ‘scuttling the investigations ‘be criminally prosecuted. So far so good. One and a half years passed, and nothing happened. No reopening, no investigation, and certainly no prosecutions. Oh… except 39 of the 40 named survivors received Rupees 1 lakh in cash as compensation, shortly after the SHRC decision. (An important fact, not to be missed, for reasons that will become clearer hereafter).

Then, on 20^th April 2013, our fifty odd women file their PIL. On the first date of hearing, which was about a week ago, the Court asks two questions, which they want answered before they admit the Petition: 1) Is Public Interest Litigation really a remedy, in cases such as this? (2) Can a PIL be filed after twenty two years? The answers are obvious (Yes, and Yes) but the questions have  have puzzled the court, and must be answered. Today, the 7^thof May, a new bench assembles to hear the Petitioners’ response.

It’s 9:55 am and I walk through the High Court gates. I am subject to the most thorough frisking I have ever been through—they are scrupulously polite, but extremely suspicious, especially of my under-wired bra. They poke and prod, and feel me up good and proper. Later I hear that there were not quite so polite, with one burkha wearing Petitioner, who had her veil forcibly removed.

10:20 am: The Courtroom, (wood panelled, sky-light lit) is beginning to fill up. I am in the third row, behind the lawyer’s padded seats– a good spot.Behind me are some journalists. I strain to overhear them. They’re talking of the case in whispers.

10:45 am: Anxiously waiting for the lawyer. Where is he? Ah, he arrives at last. Thank God.

10:55 am: So many women in court today. Are they all here for the same reasons as me? I smile at some familiar faces. I doodle through a complicated Income Tax matter, a Civil Appeal, and a couple of pass-overs. When will they ever get to it? 

11 am: Item Six. Uzma Qureshi and othersvs State. That’s it! That’s the one. The lawyer for the petitioners, Parvez Imroz, convenor of local human rights group JKCCS, stands, and begins his submissions. He reiterates their questions,  (in case they’ve forgotten, as judges are wont to do) and hands over a compilationof cases on the point.The judges are conferring amongst themselves. Mr Imroz continues. He explains how the Indian Supreme Court has repeatedly held that any member of the public can approach the Court on a matter of public importance. That this is really the meaning of Public Interest Litigation.The Bench is impatient. The Junior Judge (the one who was on the bench that asked the original questions) says: ‘You have missed our point. We are not questioning your locus.’

The Chief Justice says: ‘Of course, rape is a heinous crime. There is no doubt.’ The Junior judge nods.  They confabulate again. The Junior Judge appears to be leading the discussion. He has a lot to say. He used to be the former Additional Advocate General I hear later. Very good at deferring, delaying, denying. He did it with the case against Ex-Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, which never managed to get past the admission stage. But I still want to believe the best of them. Tell us, they ask: ‘Does this court have the power to direct that SHRC decisions be implemented?’

I want to interrupt: But, But… That wasn’t your original question! That’s not fair! How can you change your questions? But they are judges, creatures of whimsy, like the best of us. Today they have a different question.

Mr Imroz is  unperturbed. ‘Let me assist your lordships on the point’, he says.  He speaks of the complete non-implementation of the SHRC orders, the non-filing of the Action Taken Report before the SHRC.He says that 22 years have passed, without even a basic investigation into what happened that night. He points to a Madras High Court Judgment, something about SHRC decisions, but is interrupted, before I can catch his drift.The Bench clearly has something else on their mind. The Junior Judge is furiously consulting some notes he seems to have already prepared. Mr Imroz mentions that the petitioners—a group of Kashmiri, ‘public spirited’ women, have just visited the village. It appears some of the victims have recently received Rs. One Lakh as compensation, though the SHRC decision recommends at least Two Lakhs.

Suddenly, the Bench is all ears. The Junior Judge leaps in. ‘Ah! So they have implemented some part of the SHRC recommendation?’ Mr Imroztries to stem the tide: ‘That is not the point at hand. In fact, I do not know the extent…What we are asking for… If your Lordships kindly turn to page…’ But it’s useless. The Bench has seenthe light. It addresses a state lawyer, who happens to be in Court, seated right next to Mr Imroz. He jumps to attention when called.‘We want to see the file on the matter’, they say.‘Some of the recommendations seem to have been implemented. We want to know to what extent. Let the Advocate General  come tomorrow with the entire file.’ ‘Certainly M’lord’, the state counsel is all nods.

Are you kidding me?.Tomorrow? You want the state to produce all their records tomorrow? The same state that has done sweet fuck all for twenty-two years?‘And,’ the Junior Judge adds as a post-script: ‘We’ll also hear the Advocate General on the maintainability question.’‘This is Bull shit!’I say aloud. I am hushed by my neighbour. We’re in Court, I’ve forgotten my place.The Chief Justice has the grace to seem embarrassed by the way things have unfolded. ‘It is a sensitive matter, you know’, he mutters, Yes, I want to say. We  know. Mr Imroz bows, accedes to a higher power.The next case is announced. About sixty people stand up as a body, and leave. The Courtroom empties.

People in the corridors are talking. What exactly happened? Who said what? Why? What now? Some old hands hold court: It’s a delaying a tactic. An oldie, but a goodie. Hearing after hearing. Wearing you out, just on admissibility. This is legal limbo. Neither here nor there, not in, not out. Making you jump through hoops. Just to get your foot through the damn door. In this case, in the Kunan Poshpora rape, they want to see the whole state file, even before admission? And then, they take suo moto cognisance on the Amarnath Yatra, and the LPG shortage.

Some young ones are more outraged: Just because, they may have paid out some money, after twenty years? Why are they going on this compensation point? Surely, it’s beside the point? Under what law? What rule? By what logic, or what common-sense can it be of any importance? Why keep us hanging like this? Why didn’t they admit it, then issue notice to the state to bring the record? Or why can’t they just dismiss it? And then we’ll see what to do next… We can go to Supreme Court. At least, it would be a decision. The battle-hardened reply: Oh no they’re too smart for that. It’s a waiting game. They have done it before. Sailan, Machil, Khoda…the names of so many massacres, so many cases, so many days in court. The air is thick with it, my head reels.Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Khanyar Massacre. I can’t process it all. People can’t stop talking

We troop back to the JKCSS office, still talking. I stop on the Bund for Golgappas. I meet some of the petitioners, a young and angry bunch. They want to know, why the rape of a single Indian woman can have the whole country in an uproar, but a case about the rapes of fifty (seventy? more? We may never know exactly how many women were raped that night) Kashmiri women must prove its ‘public importance’ in three separate hearings.  Back at the office, it’s chaotic. Arguments have to be redrafted, cases found, precedents cited. We’re back in court tomorrow. Some people from the village of Kunan Poshpora arrive: four wizened old men, and one very vociferous middle aged one. They came to the court as well, but I had missed them in the crowd. They tell us that on the 25^th of April and 2^nd of May, twenty three of the villagers were summoned to the Court of the Judicial Magistrate in Kupwara, and their statements about the case were recorded. They are very categorical and pull out several crumpled pieces of hand -written papers from their pockets as proof,  but we’re not entirely sure of the whats or whys of it. After some protracted conversations between the lawyer in Kupwara, and the activists in Srinagar, over a very bad (and probably tapped) phone line we realise that though the case has been closed on the police files in 1991, the ‘closure report’ has never been officially filed. It seems like the buzz about the PIL, has made the police suddenly awaken to this fact. They want to file an official closure report, and in a hurry. Hence the flurry of summons.‘Typical!’ , someone says. I am naïve enough to be shocked.

I help draft affidavits, averring that even though, yes, it is true they have received compensation, they still want ‘complete justice’ (as such affidavits always read). We solemnly assert on behalf of the victims: ‘We want the investigation done by an independent agency, we want the perpetrators punished.’ The old men will get these affidavits signed, and bring them to court, by ten am tomorrow. The journey to Kunan Poshpora takes four hours. They want us to hurry up, and finish drafting the papers already, so they can get home before it’s too late. But they constantly get in the way of us legal ones –the names on the record are all wrong (as such names always are): X is the daughter of Y, not his wife- ‘That is irrelevant’,  we say. Four of the women are dead we realise, once the affidavits are drafted, the names tallied, the stamp papers bought.They have to be redone. One of the people in the office, gives the villagers a talk about not hoping for too much. ‘Nothing may come of it.’ ‘ Yes,’ they say. ‘We know.’

Tomorrow, the 8^th of May, is the date of the next hearing. I wait with a bad feeling in my gut. But I still hope.

Day 2: 8^th May 2013 

Today I go to the JKCCS office first. Scenes of confusion. The  forty affidavits have been signed / thumb printed, but more inconsistencies have been discovered. The villagers point out each one, they have learnt the hard way in the State Human Rights Commission, that a misspelled name can cost a lot. Whitener is liberally applied. Printing on stamp paper is a bitch; one always gets it the wrong way around. Finally, the papers are ready, and we walk to the High Court.

10:35 am: We walk in to the Chief Justice Court, as a huge group of people troop out. The Court has been hearing the ‘Dal Lake matter’, concerning the unfortunately named LAWDA (Lakes and Waterways Development Authority) and the city master plan. When we enter, the Bench is empty. The Judges are in chambers conferring.

10: 45 am: The Court is not as full as yesterday

11:00 am: The Judges re-enter, we all stand. Mr Imroz has stepped out for a cup of tea. Someone is sent to fetch him. The Judges begin with their list. The Kunan Poshpora PIL shall be heard at the end of their Admissions list, since it was only taken on board yesterday. The listed matters drone on.

11:35 am: An interlude in the tedium. On a matter about the inauguration of public park, the Chief Justice remarks: ‘It should not be some one hi-fi. When I was in Punjab, a bridge was to be inaugurated, and we ordered that the oldest labourer should cut the ribbon. His statement was in the press. He said he had only been garlanded twice in his life: once when he got married, and next when he inaugurated the bridge.’

11:45 am. I am bored and hungry. An administrative appeal about Promotions, an urban zoning matter about illegal constructions, drag on endlessly. Seated next to me is the Advocate General’s court clerk. He is reading his boss’s copy of the Kunan Poshpora Petition. I read over his shoulders. In the margins against the first two prayers (for reopening and re-investigation, and criminal prosecution of Wajahat Habibullah, the then Divisional Commissioner for his rlein the cover up) it says in bold letters in ball-point ink: NO. NO.

12 noon. The Kunan Poshpora case is up. The Advocate General is on his feet, a crew-cut junior by his ear. He addresses the question of maintainability, reeling off sections from the Protection of Human Rights Act. His point is that the act says the SHRC decisions are merely recommendatory. That the SHRC itself should approach the Court, ‘Who are these Petitioners? What is their Locus?’ Then he talks about compensation. He says: ‘The Government is going to hold a meeting on 14^th of May, at 3 pm. It is under active consideration. The agenda, the timing is already fixed’ – a bureaucrat passes him a file, which he passes on to the Court. 

This is a shocker! The survivors maintain that they have been already paid compensation of Rupees 1 Lakh, shortly after the SHRC case ended. We just filed their affidavits to that effect. Later, in the office the details I had missed become clearer to me. They were paid Rs 1 lakh in cash, all thirty-nine of them (for reasons that are not clear, one did not receive the money) by the local MLA (now Law Minister) in his official residence, in the presence of the local Tehsildar. Thirty Nine Lakhs in cash! Where did it come from? Why was it paid? Why will the Government not acknowledge this payment? We still don’t know the answers, but we can guess.

The Advocate General moves on to the criminal proceedings. He says that the matter is presently before the Judicial Magistrate Kupwara, that he is examining the Police Challan. Witnesses have been summoned. This, we have been expecting, from what the men from the village told us. The Advocate General makes the mistake of saying, the Court “cannot” take cognisance when the Magistrate is seized of the matter. The Chief Justice takes offence ‘You should not use the word cannot in relation to the Court. Especially, a person in your position. You cannot tell the Court what it can or cannot do.’ The Advocate General’s apologies are perfunctory. The Bench wants to hear more on the question of maintainability, ‘Do you have any authorities?’ The Advocate General fumbles. His junior passes him some Judgments. The Advocate General reads from them, they are all on the question of whether a High Court can be approached, when a matter is pending before a lower court. He never explains, why  if the case is still pending before the Magistrate, the FIR has repeatedly been referred to in the past, as ‘Closed as Untraced’.

Now, it’s Mr Imroz’s turn. He points out judgments on the question of implementability of SHRC decisions. The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that even though SHRC decisions are recommendatory, the Court can take independent cognisance of their findings– the human rights, and constitutional violations they disclose . He continues to the point about reopening, and monitoring criminal investigations, and mentions Vineet Narrain’s case  on investigations into the Hawala scam. The judges want him to refer to a specific paragraph. He rifles through his pages. Then, he mentions the affidavits, but they haven’t been formally  registered yet, so he cannot fully rely on their averments, which put lie to his ‘Learned Friend’ the Advocate General. He ends by saying, ‘Crime Never Dies’—the Judges nod in recognition of a well worn legal cliché. The limitation question does not interest them anymore.The Court reserves the matter for orders. They will not pronounce immediately on whether the case can be admitted.

We file out. The buzz in the corridors today is more subdued. Is it a good sign, this reserving for orders?What does it portend? At least they are going to pass orders, no more proceeding without even admitting the case. No more legal limbo. We can only hope, while we await further orders. And what about the money? How will they explain that?

The villagers seem to find it hilarious, that the Government now claims never to have paid them. They carefully count the copies of the affidavits we have prepared, and put them away in a plastic bag full of other papers, before they leave the office.

Related articles

• Press Release- Showkat Ahmad Paul, of Lawaypora, is NOT part of a fidayeen squad of a militant group (kashmirsolidaritymumbai.wordpress.com)
• Kashmir: Yet another fake encounter by Indian forces unearthed (alhittin.com)
• Kashmir – Lethal injuries from Non-lethalweapons (kashmirsolidaritymumbai.wordpress.com)

Kashmir – Lethal injuries from Non-lethalweapons

Despite the call by human rights organizations to stop the use of weapons such as pellet guns and chilli grenades in tackling riots or mob fury, security forces in the Kashmir Valley continue to deploy the same with impunity. This has led to debilitating injuries and even death, reports Freny Maneksha. 
 

•  Write the author •  Human Rights •  Send to a friend •  Printer friendly version

25 April 2013 - “Killing us is better than making us blind.” This cry in total despair by a Kashmiri youth, who recently lost his vision, after a pellet gun injury, highlights the devastating manner in which seemingly “non lethal” weapons are continuing to be deployed in the Valley. In 2010 when security troops used pellet guns to quell protests and incidents of stone pelting, at least 45 youths suffered loss of vision because of pellet gun injuries, according to the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar.

Media reports estimate that in the current 2013 protests, following the execution of Afzal Guru, there have been at least 12 such cases of youths receiving very serious eye injuries with slim prospects of regaining vision. The youngest of them is a 13-year-old boy, Muzammil Qayoom Rather, who was hit in the eye as he stood at the window of his home in Baramulla district, North Kashmir. On 12 February, according to media reports, he leaned out of the window of his home in Sheeri to shout slogans even as protests were taking place in the streets below. He then received a hit in the eye by security forces who aimed at him.

Air gun pellets can cause serious eye injuries and can penetrate the skin, bone and even internal organs. Pic credit: Wikimedia

It was also on 12 February that nineteen-year-old street hawker, Tariq Ahmad Gojri of Sheeri, Baramulla district, received a hit in the eye. Gojri told the media he had ventured out only to buy bread for the family. He adds that he was unable to seek proper medical attention because of the curfew that was clamped then. By the time he got to a hospital, the tiny pellets had spread through the eye. His entire eyeball had to be removed. Doctors say that these types of penetrating injuries cannot always be treated effectively in district hospitals. But, patients from remote districts are hindered from seeking prompt or timely medical attention because of the oft-prevailing curfew and also because, they say, security troops detain ambulances and vehicles ferrying the wounded.

It is this kind of deliberate and inappropriate use of non- lethal weapons that has evoked widespread criticism by human rights organisations including Amnesty International. Pellet guns, which use hydraulic force to pump hundreds of bullets, can cause widespread injuries across the body. When aimed upwards they can cause serious eye injuries. Besides piercing the eyeball, pellet guns can cause penetration of skin, bone and even internal organs.

One major problem for doctors and medical teams treating such injuries is that since the pellets come out in scores, it hits large numbers of persons in many parts of the body. In 2010 Dr Syed Amin Tabish, medical superintendent of the Sher-I-Kashmir Medical Institute (SKIMS) Srinagar, explained to this correspondent that pellet injuries necessitated a big team of doctors attending simultaneously to a single person who may have suffered hits in the head, abdomen and limbs.

According to media reports, at least three people died in March because acrid fumes of the pepper gas grenades used to disperse crowds in many parts of old Srinagar exacerbated their medical conditions. •  Maimed by the state, quietly •  A death in the family

In the same year a medical study on pellet gun injuries was brought out by SKIMS based on the 198 patients who were brought in with pellet gun injuries. The study notes, “Whilst the pellet wound itself may seem trivial, if not appreciated for the potential for tissue disruption and injuries to the head, chest and abdomen, there can be catastrophic results.” Significantly it observed, “Patients should be evaluated and managed in the same way as those sustaining bullet injuries.” The study cautioned that pellet guns should not be used unless extremely necessary and personnel using them may be better trained so that people do not receive direct hits.

Other “non lethal” weapons like pepper gas and pepper grenades (also called chilli grenades) have also been deployed in the latest round of turmoil in Kashmir. According to media reports, at least three people died in March because acrid fumes of the pepper gas grenades used to disperse crowds in many parts of old Srinagar exacerbated their medical conditions. Among them was a sixty-year-old woman from Bemina, named Hazira. Her family members say that on 8 March, a stray pepper grenade landed in her home which worsened her asthma. She died the next day. Another pregnant woman reportedly suffered a miscarriage after she stumbled and fell ill on inhaling the fumes. Whilst these grenades may be aimed at youths protesting on streets, the elderly and young children can be particularly vulnerable to the gas that engulfs the atmosphere, according to doctors.

A doctor at the Soura Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar told the press that while they did not know the exact chemical composition of the gas its effects were particularly lethal for people with acute asthma or allergy.

Uzma, a young woman told this correspondent that the intensity of the gas was such that its effects can be felt within a radius of up to three or four kilometres from where it is deployed. �Your throat starts burning and itching and you can go on coughing violently for almost an hour and a half. The eyes start watering and this, too, continues for hours. It is really a horrific and frightening sensation.�

The use of pepper gas and resulting deaths rocked the assembly and the opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, staged a walkout on 11 March. The Jammu & Kashmir State Human Rights Commission castigated the police and state. In its order, it said the “state is duty-bound under constitution and law to protect the lives of the citizens and in no case are at liberty or have license to adopt such measures which would endanger the health of its subject in the name of maintaining law and order.”

On 21 March, Amnesty International told the government to suspend the use of pepper spray grenades until rigorous independent investigations have been carried out to assess its effect. It has also asked for a proper investigation into the cause of deaths of the three persons. Shashikumar Velath, programme director of Amnesty International India, said the J&K government and police departments have clearly not established any guidelines for monitoring the use of this gas and it is yet another example of “unregulated and excessive use of force by police in J&K.”

Use of pepper sprays is permissible in India and it has been marketed as an effective means of self defence, but it was the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that in 2008 announced it would begin work on its use as a non-lethal weapon against terrorists. Scientists told the media that they would be using Bhut Jholakia, a chilly grown in the North East, that is recognised as one of the world’s hottest chillies. India’s Defence Research Laboratory rates it as having 855,000 heat units on the Scoville range (which makes it 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce). These scorching chillies are used to make tear-gas like grenades. On ignition the oleoresin or thick, oily liquid which is absorbed in a composition reacts to liberate heat which evaporates and releases irritants in the atmosphere along with smoke.

The DRDO went ahead with its plans for such weapons even though Amnesty International and other organisations had declared that use of pepper sprays against peaceful protesters was “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” It described the severity of its effects as “tantamount to torture.” Its use has been rejected in the United Kingdom because of potential carcinogenic properties.

In May 2011, according to a report in India Today, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) placed an order for as many as 10,000 chilli grenades at a whopping cost of Rs 1.51 crore to be deployed in Kashmir to disperse mobs. Besides the CRPF, the UP state police last year applied to the ministry of home affairs to purchase these pepper grenades which had not yet been tested. Kashmir is the first state in India where these untested grenades are currently being deployed. Interestingly whilst defence personnel and the DRDO have on various blogs and websites held discussions on its efficacy for crowd control, there has been little evaluation of its lethal effects and the fact that its use on unarmed civilian populations is considered a transgression of human rights in many other parts of the world.⊕

Freny Maneksha 
25 April 2013

Freny Manecksha is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.

REFERENCES

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/crpf-orders-10000-chilli-grenades-for-kashmir-valley/1/142098.html

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/on-police-demand-list-untested-chilli-grenades-to-control-crowd/974344/

http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/indian-army/13244-low-intensity-conflict-laser-dazzlers-tackle-kashmiri-protesters-1.html

http://www.nag.co.za/forums/archive/index.php/t-13684.html

Call to support Adil and Roohie from Srinagar

Dear Friends,
Your immediate help is needed in the following case. A petty shawl weaver Adil Ahmad of Khaiwan, Hawal Srinagar has in the past five years attempted suicide 7 times. Adil is a lone brother of four sisters, his father is a grocery hawker and mother spins wheel to help contribute in the family income. They live in a miserable condition ever since Adil incurred a debt of Rs 26 lakh. It actually started when a person bought shawls from him and disappeared without paying him any money. Adil had earlier bought a large amount of Pashmina wool from wholesalers who he had intended to pay after his client paid him the money. It never happened. The client turned out to be a thug and just disappeared from the state. This poor family has cleared some debt by selling all the land they had but they still have to repay some 10 lakh. Since 2008, Adil tried all methods to end his life, sometime he would cut open his left-hand arteries and other times drink pesticides. He has undergone ECT therapy (electric shocks) over a dozen times in Srinagar’s mental disease hospital. Adding to the problem was a recent accident his sister met. She (Roohie) has broken her shoulder bone. On 29th this month she has to reach Amristar where she has to get operated. The operation fee is around 2 lakh and the family has no idea how they will manage the money. I’ve visited the family, spoken to doctors and all and I think the family desperately needs intervention. Last time when Adil attempted suicide was in 2012 but he feels our help can give the family a new lease of life. So if anyone among you wants to help this family monetarily please send in your help at:
NAME: SADIYA ADIL (ADIL’S WIFE)
16-DIGIT J&K BANK Ltd ACCOUNT: 0249040100020355
BRANCH: NAWA KADAL, SRINAGAR
ACCOUNT TYPE: SAVINGS
IFSC Code: JAKA0CANDLE
Branch Code: CANDLE
NOTE: Whenever you deposit anything, please inform me here as well, so that I should also come to know how much has been contributed and how much is needed more or when to stop actually. Also don’t hesitate to ask me questions on the issue.
Thanks
Umar.

Adil can be called on : +91-9797130341 or: +91-9596118343

Please contact Baba Umar  at twitter @BabaUmarr

Chemicals sprayed in orchards causing fatal brain cancer in Kashmir

Rakib Altaf, Hindustan Times  Srinagar, April 28, 2013

Toxic chemicals sprayed on fruit trees in Kashmir orchards is causing fatal brain cancer in the valley.

A study found that 90 percent of patients who die from malignant brain tumor in the valley is linked to orchards where pesticides, insecticides and fungicides are used. It says that the incidence is alarming.

Jammu and Kashmir has around 347223 hectares of land area under orchards and most of it is situated in the valley where apples, apricots, walnut and almonds are grown in huge quantities.

 

Every year until harvest season orchardists spray tens of thousands of metric tonnes of chemicals like Chlorpyriphos, Mancozeb, Captan, Dimethoate and Phosalone to prevent fruits from disease. Most of the chemicals are established carcinogenics.

The study titled ‘Pesticides and brain cancer linked in orchard farmers of Kashmir’ revealed that 389 out of 432 patients who had died of brain cancer from 2005-2008 were orchard-farm workers, residents living near orchards or simply children playing there.
The youngest of them was a female infant.

“About 31.9% (124 out of 389 who died) of these were younger than 40 years, beginning exposure at an early age,” says the study published by Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology.

“They include 23 pregnant women and 11 lactating mothers.”

The study was published in 2011, but Dr Abdul Rasheed Bhat of the neurosurgery department at SKIMS, who led the study team, told Hindustan Times that the number of brain cancer patients admitted in the hospital is rising.

“Most of the patients I operated upon had a history with orchards and pesticides. During the study we also found cases where various members of the same family were diagnosed with brain cancer,” he says.

The study, quoting data from agriculturists, says that the use of synthetic pesticides and other chemicals in Kashmir has increased drastically in the past three decades. It blames orchard farmers who often “abuse” and spray trees with more than the recommended doses.

The fatal chemicals are “directly absorbed through skin, inhalation and ingestion.”

Dr Rasheed believes the toxins also affect those who are not orchard owners, but live in the vicinity.

“The pesticides sometimes go into wells in the orchards and somebody drinks that water. Or sheep may eat grass sprayed with these chemicals. Even high winds can take the carcinogenic dust and affect those who inhale it,” he says.

 

Press Release- Showkat Ahmad Paul, of Lawaypora, is NOT part of a fidayeen squad of a militant group

Dated: 10th April 2013

PRESS RELEASE

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) strongly refutes the recent claim of the police that Showkat Ahmad Paul, of Lawaypora, is part of a fidayeen squad of a militant group planning to carry out a strike in the civil lines area of Srinagar City. APDP states that the claim floated through a section of the media quoting police sources is utterly baseless and false. After having abducted and disappeared Showkat Ahmed Paul in 2003, this is a fabricated attempt by the security forces and state intelligence agencies to obfuscate and deny responsibility in the case of his disappearance. The family who are being harassed by the security agencies fear for the safety of their son who is in their illegal and unlawful custody since 2003. They fear that after branding him as a Fidayeen the security agencies now intend to murder Showkat, by staging an encounter or using some other extra judicial method.
Showkat Ahmad Palla was abducted by one Major Pratap of Kiloo Force, 2 – Rashtriya Rifles (RR) stationed at Sharief Abad, HMT, Srinagar on 23rd of June 2003, from Pratap Park, Lal Chowk, Srinagar. At the time of his arrest Showkat was a student of Amar Singh College Srinagar. On 24th June 2003, the family lodged a missing report at the Police Station, Parimpora. The arrest and disappearance of Showkat was also covered by the media. On 11th September 2003, the parents of Showkat Ahmad Paul submitted an application to the J&K State Human Rights Commisssion (J&K SHRC) seeking the whereabouts of their missing son. The then Inspector General of Police had informed the J&K SHRC that all possible efforts are being made to trace out the disappeared person. The parents moved the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, on 29th July 2004 for directing the non-appliance for lodging an FIR against Major Pratap of Killo Force, 2 RR, the prime accused in arrest and subsequent custodial disappearance of Showkat. On the directions of CJM Srinagar, the SHO, Police Station Kothibagh, Srinagar registered the FIR on 18th January 2005, vide FIR No. 08/2005 U/S 364 RPC. On 26th October 2005, the J&K SHRC also asked for a report from the Additional Director General of Police in the matter. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed to investigate the FIR has recorded the statement of the source of Major Pratap, namely Khursheed Ahmad, who had confirmed that Showkat was taken into illegal custody by major Pratap. However, even after filling of FIR, investigation in the matter of the disappearance of Showkat Ahmad Paul have not been conducted and concluded till date.
Since his arrest and disappearance by 2 RR, Showkat Ahmed Paul’s parents have made every possible effort to trace his whereabouts. They are active members of APDP, relentlessly campaigning with the organization for information and accountability regarding the whereabouts of their young son and all other victims of Enforced Disappearances in Kashmir.
Taking strong note of the incident APDP has immediately moved the Hon’ble High Court and filed a writ petition seeking protection of life and person of Showkat Ahmed Paul and also to disclose his whereabouts. The organisation is also writing to the Chief Minister of J&K and the heads of all the security agencies in this regard.
APDP will also refer the case of Showkat Ahmad Paul to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), with a request to issue an urgent appeal in the matter and to transmit directly to the Government of India (GoI), through its permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, asking GoI to carry out investigations and inform APDP about the results. The WGEID will be requested to call on the GoI to take steps to protect all the fundamental rights of the
family of Showkat Ahmad Paul and seek an urgent and credible response from the GoI regarding the situation. WGEID will also be requested to send its team to Kashmir to asses the overall situation of disappearances, as the widespread and systematic pattern of enforced disappearances requires an independent probe by the UN body.
It is the constitutional duty of the Government to ensure the safety and security of Showkat Ahmad Pal. The Government, security agencies and the police will be responsible for any harm caused to the life or limb of Showkat. APDP seeks the immediate release of Showkat Ahmed Pal to his family members.
APDP demands an end to the culture of impunity and the crime of enforced disappearances in Kashmir

Sd/-
Parveena Ahangar,
Chairperson,
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP)

Related articles

• Laying bare the State’s terrifying impunity in #Kashmir (kashmirsolidaritymumbai.wordpress.com)
• Youth killed by Indian forces in Srinagar (thenewsinformer.com)

 

Jammu and Kashmir Biometric Census to begin next month #UID #Aadhaar

 

ZAHID MAQBOOL

 

greaterkashmir.com

 

 

Srinagar, Mar 22: Biometric census, which constitutes the second phase of the National Population Register (NPR) project, will commence in Kashmir Valley from next month.

 

 Officials associated with the NPR in J&K told Greater Kashmir that biometric census will commence from second week of April from Kulgam and Ganderbal districts.“We have completed the collection of basic data under the first phase. Now we will start holding camps to gather biometric data in valley from next month. Headquarters of Census Operations has already initiated tendering process in this regard,” said Joint Director, Census Operations J&K, Chander Shekhar Saproo.

 

 Official sources said a meeting has been scheduled this week between census officials and District Development Commissioners of Ganderbal and Kulgam.

 

 “We will start from districts that are less in area comparatively. It will help officials associated with Census to gain experience in the work which will help them in other major districts later,” officials said.

 

 Meanwhile government has already started biometric census in J&K from district Samba in Jammu.The government had launched NPR project in the year 2010 with a motive to provide National Identity Cards to each and every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir. The form filling and house-listing process was started by Census department in August 2010.

 

 NPR will be an exhaustive database, listing all residents in the state, district, block, village, and household. The register will include any person who stays or intends to stay in an area for six months or more, both citizens and non-citizens, and the data will eventually be replaced by a National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC).

 

 Pertinently the State government was asked by the Centre to replace the Aadhar project with NPR as has been done by various other states across the country.

 

 “The process is basically aimed to give every citizen a unique mode to identify himself in front of the governing body. For this purpose, a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was formed by the Planning Commission last year,” sources said.

 

 

 

Srinagar on boil over youth’s death in CRPF firing

ByM Saleem Pandit, TNN | Mar 14, 2013

A 24-year-old youth was killed

when CRPF personnel returning from the hospital after donating blood for their wounded colleagues in Wednesday morning’s fidayeen attack fired at a crowd of protesters in Saidpora area here, said the police.

 

Altaf Hussain died on spot as a crowd of protesters demanding the return of Afzal Guru‘s body ran into the CRPF vehicle, the police said. When angry people began pelting stones, the CRPF personnel fired at the crowd which resulted in the death of Altaf Hussain, son of Abdul Ahad Wani of Saidpora. Doctors at SKIMS said the boy was brought dead with a bullet wound in the chest.The youth’s death led to a fresh wave of protest with thousands of people from the old city taking to the streets with Altaf’s body. The anger of protesters led the National Conference to condemn the killing, with a senior party leader describing Altaf’s death as “murder without provocation” and demanded an inquiry.

Former home minister Nasir Aslam Wani, who is provisional president of National Conference, termed Saidpora killing as “cold blooded murder”.

The police was absent in the entire old city areas in an attempt to reduce tensions but residents carrying Altaf’s body raised anti-India slogans, as well as against the security forces and Omar Abdullah.

Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani called for a complete shut down on Thursday against the “unprovoked firing by the CRPF on the common people” after the fidayeen attack on their camp in Bemina.

APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned the killing of the youth. Expressing serious concern, he termed it a “barbaric act” on part of the security forces.

Sensing trouble, the administration imposed section 144 in the entire Srinagar district. Authorities are likely to order curfew on Thursday morning to avert any violence in the Valley.

NC expressed deep sympathies with the family of the bereaved. Nasir Wani assured the family that the party will ensure justice to the family and stand by those dependent on the deceased.

Meanwhile, several activists of Panthers Party held a massive protest in front of parliament in New Delhi demanding the immediate dismissal of the J&K government saying it had failed to protect the lives and property of the people.

Related articles

• Live: Firing stops in Srinagar, CM makes a statement, PDP condemns attack (ibnlive.in.com)
• 24 year old Youth Killed In CRPF Firing (kashmirsolidaritymumbai.wordpress.com)
• Five CRPF men killed in fidayeen attack in Srinagar (thehindu.com)

 

SC issues notice to JK govt ‘Wrongful’ arrest of a 7th class student #goodnews #kashmir

photo courtesdy- Kmr news

By Kashmir  Monitor News Bureau

Published: Tue, 12 March 2013

New Delhi: A Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India has issued a four week’s notice to the state government for wrongfully arresting a minor from downtown in total violation of the Juvenile Act. Division bench comprising of R.M. Lodha, J. Chelameswar & Madan B. Lokur on Monday issued four weeks’ notice to the Chief Secretary of J&K Govt, DG Police, IG Police Kashmir Range & SHO Safakadal, Srinagar on a writ petition filed by State Legal Aid Committee on behalf of 12-year-old Faizan Bashir, who was arrested by Safakadal Police Station (Srinagar) on 25th August, 2012.
Faizan, a 7th class student was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police under section 307, 147, 148, 149, 152, 427, 435 RPC (Ranbir Penal Code) in FIR no. 96/2012 and kept in a solitary lock-up in police station Safakadal, Srinagar for more than 40 hours without producing him before a juvenile board.Faizan in his own affidavit had alleged that he was abused, humiliated and put to harassment and starve in the police station.
Panthers Party Chief Bhim Singh, appearing for Faizan submitted that, “The State Legal Aid Committee had filed a writ of habeas corpus under Article 32 of the Constitution of India on 28th August, 2012 seeking Faizan release from the police lock-up, quashing the proceedings against Faizan since there are no Juvenile Board constituted in the state.”
He also hoped that Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2007 will be implemented forthwith and pay a compensation of Rs.10 lacs as an exemplary cost to Faizan for his wrongful confinement.
Prof. Bhim Singh also informed the court that Faizan was wrongfully confined in a police lock-up in violation of the Juvenile Act, produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate and remanded for 15 days in utter violation of the rule and the Juvenile Act.
He informed the Apex Court that in J&K Juvenile Board has not been constituted and the so-called Juvenile Home is manned by the police which is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Prof. Bhim Singh further submitted before the Apex Court that, “That the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, 1985 (the Beijing Rules) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (1990) set the minimum standard to be adhered to in the administration of juvenile justice in respect of juveniles in conflict with law.”
Prof. Bhim Singh submitted that Faizan was picked up from his house at 9.30 p.m, handcuffed and kept inside a police lock up which is meant for the habitual criminal. He further said that the Govt. of J&K has used all the illegal means and methods against the children and juveniles of J&K in violation of Article 14, 19 & 21 of the Constitution of India.
In the petition it was submitted that State of J&K has failed to make provisions to constitute Special Juvenile Police Units, Juvenile Justice/Welfare Boards, constitute Child Welfare Committee.

Related articles

• IMMEDIATE RELEASE-SC directs compulsory registration of FIRs in all missing children cases (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• #India -35-year-old awaits murder trial in a juvenile home #WTFnews (kractivist.wordpress.com)

 

#India- 815 rapes cases in Jammu and Kashmir in last 3 years #Vaw

Thursday, 07 Mar 2013 at 11:22, Rising Kahsmir

 

3553 molestation, 2950 kidnapping, 960 eve-teasing, 29 dowry cases

Arun Singh
Jammu, Mar 7: Around 815 rape cases have been registered in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three years. 110 rape cases were reported in Jammu and 55 cases in Srinagar.

The figures came to fore in a written reply to the question asked by Member of Legislative Council, Ravinder Sharma seeking details regarding number of crimes against women in the state during past three years and steps taken to check the atrocities against women.
According to the reply, 2950 kidnapping cases were reported in last three years. In year 2012, 299 women/girls were raped and 1059 were abducted in different districts of the state. In the same year, two gang rape cases, 1322 cases of molestation and outraging modesty, 347 cases of eve teasing, eight cases in dowry deaths, 199 cases of abetment to suicide, 301 cases in cruelty by husband, three cases under Dowry Restraint Prohibition Act and three in suppression of immoral trafficking were registered at various police stations across the state.
In the year 2011, 273 rapes, 1041 kidnaps, 1194 molestations, 351 eve teasing and 11 dowry cases were registered. In 2010, 243 rapes, 850 kidnaps, 1037 molestations, 262 eve teasing and 10 dowry cases were registered.
“Stringent laws were already in force and any culprit involved in a crime or atrocity against a woman was being dealt in accordance with law,” the government reply reads.
It said the investigations in the cases were supervised by a senior officer. “Effective patrolling and vigil was also being ensured at sensitive locations to prevent the occurrence of such crimes.”
The government also said various awareness programmes, legal camps with the help of opinion leaders at police station level were also organized to create public opinion about crime against women.

Related articles

• #Mumbai- Special cell for crimes against women to finally take off on #Womensday (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• #India- BILL VS ACT: Confusion over sex crime laws #Vaw #Womenrights (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• #India – When a rape is not a rape #sexualviolence #Vaw #AFSPA (kractivist.wordpress.com)
• J&K hockey coach arrested for allegedly molesting Punjab players #Vaw (kractivist.wordpress.com)

 

Kashmiri film bags award at Canada International Film Festival

 

In a major accolade for regional cinema, a Kashmiri feature film has won an award at the Canada International Film Festival 2013, a first for any local movie.

Partav , meaning influence, won the Award of Excellence in the feature film category.

It is the first Kashmiri film shot entirely in 35mm digital format. It is the story of a professor who forsakes everything in his life to devote himself to his literary pursuits.

The film revolves around the ideology that “a life lived for others is a life worth living”. In fact, this Albert Einstein quote is the catch-line of the one-hour-and-fifty-minute film, which became the first Kashmiri film to receive any international recognition.

“It is a big achievement and not only for us, but for the people of Kashmir as well,” the director of the film, Dilnawaz Muntazir said.

The filmmaker said the recognition means “a lot to the team behind the film” and described it as an achievement for cinema in Kashmir in particular and to Kashmiri language in general.

Muntazir (35) has been invited to attend the award ceremony in Vancouver. He expressed hope that the film and the recognition it got, will revive the “otherwise non-existent” cinema in the Valley and would inspire many youngsters to take up filmmaking.

“Filmmakers here are very much apprehensive about making films in Kashmiri and the potential of the language [to attract global audience]. It will change that and encourage them and many youngsters to be optimistic and help revive the film culture here,” Muntazir, a dental surgeon by profession, said.

However, the filmmaker says “all is not well” here when it comes to filmmaking. He said, the young team faced a lot of problems and neglect during the production and post-production of the film.

“The film was made on a budget of Rs. 75 lakh. We arranged about 25 lakh ourselves and raised the rest through loans and other sources. We approached many people and business houses here, but to no avail. Even the Cultural Academy did not help us in any way… There was no support,” he said.

The Canada International Film Festival, held each year in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, brings the very best of world cinema to Canada from over 90 countries around the world.

The 2013 edition will be held April 5th to 6th, 2013 at Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver. This year’s Festival Programme will showcase a wide variety of North American and International Feature Films to thought-provoking Shorts, Documentaries, Music Videos, Animations, Experimental Films, Student Films, a Screenplay Competition, and more.

Listed at number six in the 2013 Award of Excellence Winners – Feature Competition category, ‘Partav’ has made proud not only its makers, but the whole community here. PTI