Kulgam: A faint groan emanates from the partially built one-storey house in the middle of a karewa in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Inside, in the corner of a dimly lit room, a few grieving women urge Meema Bano, who is mourning the death of her son, to show patience and faith in God.
“He was innocent. They have killed an innocent man and made him suffer in his last moments. But they should have mercy on us now and release my Showkat for the sake of Allah. They should return my other son,” Bano said with folded hands on Saturday (15 March).
Bano’s sons, Showkat Ahmad Bajad and his brother Riyaz Ahmad Bajad, along with their distant relative Mukhtar Ahmad Awan who belonged to Partapora village, had gone to attend a wedding in Kulgam’s Mir Bazar on February 13 when all three went missing.
Relatives of two missing men. Photo: Jehangir Ali/The Wire
A month after the disappearance, Riyaz’s body, with alleged torture marks, was found under mysterious circumstances on the banks of Vishaw river in Kulgam district on Thursday (March 13), raising questions about the safety of the other two men.
On Sunday, the body of the second victim, Showkat, was also recovered from Vishaw near Mah Ashmuji, deepening the mystery around the case. The two brothers belong to the Nomadic Tribe of Gujjars and worked as daily labourers at the brick kilns adjacent to Chandian-Pajan village.
Dr Azia Manzoor Bhat, who examined Riyaz’s body at District Hospital Kulgam, where his post-mortem examination was conducted, said that the victim’s body was in “advanced stage of putrefaction”.
“I was called as an expert to examine the body. As far as my observation goes, it doesn’t look homicidal in nature. It looks like a suicide. The findings are consistent with ante-mortem (before death) drowning,” said Dr Bhat who heads the forensic medicine department at Government Medical College Anantnag.
The final post-mortem report of the deceased has not been prepared yet, according to officials.
Riyaz and Showkat worked at one of the many brick kilns adjoining their village in Kulgam district. Photo: Jehangir Ali/The Wire
However, Mohammad Sadiq, father of the two brothers, who raises a small flock of goats and sheep for a living, alleged that there were torture marks on the body.
“It looked as if boiling water had been poured on his head which had no hair in the centre. His face was unrecognisable. There were blisters on his abdomen and injury marks around his neck. If he died by suicide, how did his body manage to reach the riverbank,” wondered Sadiq.
Prominent tribal activist Talib Hussain, who visited the spot where Riyaz’s body was recovered last week, said that the low discharge in the river amid a prolonged dry spell in Kashmir and its shallow waters were unlikely to have resulted in the death of Riyaz.
“The water barely reaches up to the knees and one can easily cross the river at the spot where the body of Riyaz was found. Even if we believe that Riyaz has died by suicide, how did his body reach the riverbank,” said Hussain, who has been camping in the village to seek justice for the affected family.
Chandian-Pajan is a cluster of around 30 houses belonging to the Gujjars, who live in abject poverty. Despite being barely 500 metres from National Highway-44, the village has no road and the dirt track leading to it was flooded when The Wire visited on Saturday (March 15).
The house (with green tin roof) of the two brothers who were reported missing from Kulgam on February 13. Photo: Jehangir Ali/The Wire
The village has no medical facilities and most of the houses are made of tin sheeting nailed to wooden frames with layers of earth raised around the perimeter to keep out rain and snow. Riyaz’s death, the first person to have been buried in the newly established village, has pushed the entire village into mourning.
The family of the two brothers suspects that a tribal man from Pratapora, the native village of Awan – the third missing man –may be involved in their tragic fate.
Speaking with The Wire, Sadiq said that Awan’s uncle was involved in some financial dispute and Awan was asked by the local (name withheld), who allegedly works as an informer for security forces, that a senior official in Kulgam district police had summoned him on the fateful day.
“Awan called Showkat that day and later took him and Riyaz along with him,” claimed Sadiq.
Meema Bano (left) and Najma Bano, widow of Riyaz, at their residence in Chandian Pajan village. Photo: Jehangir Ali/The Wire
Reacting to the family’s allegations, senior superintendent of police (Kupwara) Sahil Sarangal said that they are investigating the matter. “This angle is also being investigated. It is an old issue but we are looking at the case from all angles,” he said.
Hussain, the tribal activist, said that a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of J&K high court should be ordered into the deaths and the government should provide compensation and job to Sadiq’s only remaining son who is the youngest among the trio.
At their dilapidated house, Meema Bano refuses to listen to the pleas of women around her, crying inconsolably. From the corner of the room, a young girl with an infant in her arms stood up, took a couple of strides across the room and sat down in front of this reporter.
“I don’t want anything from the government. I only want justice for my husband. If he has been killed, his perpetrators should be identified and punished. That is all I want,” Najma Bano, Riyaz’s wife, said.
