Srinagar: A fortnight after the Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered a magisterial inquiry into the death of a young man from Kathua who was allegedly tortured in police custody, the probe committee has failed to submit its report within the specified deadline, leaving the victim’s family anxious.
The Kathua district magistrate had directed the tehsildar of Lohai Malhar sub-division Anil Kumar to lead the magisterial inquiry into the death of Makhan Din, 25, a resident of Billawar in Kathua district, and submit a report within five days.
Official sources said that the magisterial inquiry has not been completed so far, “We have not received the report from the forensic lab which has caused the delay,” an official, who is part of the inquiry commission, told The Wire, adding that the statements of the victim’s family members have been recorded.
However, the official, who didn’t want to be named, refused to clarify whether the probe committee spoke with the police officials, who have been named by the family members as the alleged culprits.
Din, a herder, allegedly committed suicide on February 5 by consuming some poisonous substance in a mosque while recording the event on his smartphone. Before taking the extreme step, he alleged that police were torturing him on false charges of having links with militants.
Din’s death triggered widespread outrage in the Union territory. Following the outcry, the J&K police had also ordered a probe by deputy inspector general of police (Kathua-Samba-Jammu range) Shiv Kumar, noting that the inquiry was going to be completed “at the earliest” without specifying any deadline.
However, the police inquiry hasn’t been completed either, according to sources. The Wire has reached out to the Kathua district magistrate Rakesh Minhas and senior superintendent of police, Kathua, Shobhit Saxena, for their comment. This story would be updated if and when it is received.
Speaking with The Wire, Lal Din, elder brother of the victim, said that the administration had promised to complete the inquiry within five days on the day of his funeral, “It’s been 14 days now but no FIR has been filed yet. If the administration doesn’t deliver justice, we will knock on the doors of the judiciary,” he said.
He added, “Whosoever is involved in torturing my brother should be punished. The injustice done to him and our family should not go unpunished”.
Recalling the events of the fateful day, Lal Din said that his brother was brought in a police vehicle to their village on February 5, a day after he was picked by a police party from Billawar police station in Kathua on the charges of having links with militants.
Din, 32, who is married and also works as a herdsman, said that a narrow path branches off from the road in Billawar to their house and that the police team ordered his brother to bring the mobile phones of other family members while they stayed in the vehicle.
“I wasn’t home at that time. He complained about the torture to the father, telling him that the police were beating him up badly. After taking five mobile phones of our family members, he went to the mosque, which falls on the way to the main road, where he consumed some poisonous substance,” he said, claiming that his brother passed away when he was being taken to hospital.
Before leaving the mosque on February 5, Din, the victim, shared the suicide video recorded on his smartphone with his friends and relatives over WhatsApp, which later went viral on social media.
The bereaved family is apprehensive that the official probes ordered into the incident would remain inconclusive. “The government has failed to meet its own deadline for completing the probe which shows that they are not serious. But we will leave no stone unturned to bring his perpetrators to justice,” Din said.
Earlier this week, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti urged the J&K director general of police to intervene in the matter while demanding compensation for the bereaved tribal family. Mufti had also said that the station house officer of Billawar police station had allegedly driven the victim to end his life.
Police said that Makhan Din was nephew of Swaru Gujjar, a militant who is believed to be involved in an ambush on an army convoy in Badnota area in July last year in which five Army soldiers, including a junior commissioner officer, were killed.
“Makhan had a number of suspicious contacts in Pak and other foreign countries. There was no custodial torture or injury. He was questioned and then got exposed, went home and committed suicide,” police said, terming Mufti’s allegations that internet had been shut as “baseless and misleading”.
