NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

'Do you want the land or the people?'

Mukhtar Ahmad in Brari Aangan, Anantnag

Mohammad Rafiq left his home in this picturesque village along with his fellow villagers on Monday to protest and demand a probe into the disappearance of his 65-year old father, Jumma Khan. He returned dead.

A probe has now been announced by the Jammu and Kashmir government but only into the killing of Mohammad Rafiq by trigger-happy members of the elite Special Operations Group of the state police. However, Jumma Khan's disappearance, along with a few others, still remains wrapped in mystery even as locals believe that he was buried along with four other villagers whom the director general of police described as 'dreaded foreign militants' responsible for the massacre of 35 Sikh villagers at Chatti Singhpora.

The locals earn their livelihood by farming and herding. Mirza Noor, the aged mother of Rafiq, does not know what to mourn -- the death of her son or the continued disappearance of her husband. "My eyes are dry now. I don't know why all this has happened. I never deserved this in my old age," Noor cries, her eyes welling over with tears.

She remembers vividly the night of March 23 and 24, when unidentified men wearing black masks forced their entry into her house. "They came to our house around 1 am and knocked on the door. We opened it and they immediately asked for my father," says Rafiqa Bano. "Later they told my father to accompany them to the nearby Shangus village." Jumma left his home silently along with the masked men in fatigues who then went into a house belonging to another villager.

"They broke down our door around 2 am and forced their entry in," recalls his daughter. "They told my father (also named Jumma Khan) to show them the way to another village." That was the last she saw of him.

"We did not panic as earlier also the security forces would take villagers during the night to show them the way to adjoining villages and they would return safely," says Abdul Rashid, brother of Mohammad Rafiq. "Sounds of heavy firing woke us up on March 25. Later we were told that some militants had died in a gun battle."

However, to their utter shock the locals of Pathribal, including a few relatives of the two missing Jumma Khans, came to this village late in the afternoon. "They told us about the firing and said that they suspect the two missing villagers had been killed in the firing.

"We rushed to Pathribal and saw the site of the encounter. To our shock we found the pieces of clothing, a ring and an identity card of my father," says Rashid. "The villagers of Pathribal who buried them later in the presence of the security forces and police said three bodies were charred beyond recognition while two others were mutilated and could not be recognised."

The news spread like wildfire and triggered off protests. From that day the villagers say their confidence has been shattered. "We just cannot sleep. A knock on the door sends us scurrying for cover in the dark," says Shakoor. The arrival of Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday afternoon brought quick relief and comfort. " I have come to join you in your grief. I am shocked. The firing by the police was unprovoked," he told them. Six persons from this village, including Rafiq, died in the unprovoked firing on a procession by the members of the SOG.

Abdullah had a difficult time convincing the villagers that his government will take strict action against all those involved in the Brakpora incident. "Truth will come out in the Judicial inquiry that we have ordered. Please wait," he assured them. "I have sent my law minister to Delhi to consult with the Centre for selecting a Supreme Court judge for the probe. Please tell the judge everything when he visits this village."

When a villager shouted, 'Farooq, do you need the land or the people', the CM keeps mum. "Of what use are these things if no one is left in the village," the old man cries, wiping his tears on his loose Kashmiri pheran (robe).

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report