There is a general perception that the human rights
situation in Jammu and Kashmir is bad and largely unaddressed. The various
official human rights mechanisms, including the judiciary and the State
Human Rights Commission, are unable to act proactively and rein in human
rights violators, including the army, paramilitary forces, police and
surrendered militants. In this context, it was felt that a civil society
initiative, including retired members of the judiciary, was imperative to
clarify the situation and the reasons for the continued deaths and
suffering.
The practice of human rights abuse is protected, if not
encouraged, by legislation like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, the
Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act and the Disturbed Areas Act – where
security forces are given sweeping powers to shoot, kill, arrest and
detain along with blanket immunity from prosecution for such heinous acts.
These powers are in complete disregard of the most fundamental postulates
of international law enshrined in the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human
Rights 1948), the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights), the ICESCR (International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights), the UNCAT (UN Convention Against Torture) and the UN
Convention on the Elimination of Enforced Disappearances, among others.
The latter two have been signed but not ratified by India.
Keeping in view the basic principles of human rights as
enshrined under the Constitution of India and various international
covenants, and in order to highlight the forms and extent of human rights
abuse suffered by civilians in Kashmir, the Human Rights Law Network, in
collaboration with ANHAD, organised an Independent People’s Tribunal on
February 20 and 21, 2010 at Srinagar, Kashmir.
The tribunal was organised with an aim to provide a
platform to the victims of the ongoing armed conflict. The tribunal
witnessed testimonies from all sections of Kashmiri society, including
victims, their family members, social activists, journalists and
academicians. In all, 37 testimonies came to be recorded during the
two-day-long tribunal. Victims and their family members narrated their
stories of suffering which they have experienced for the past two decades.
The idea behind conducting such an event was to highlight the sufferings
of all such victims and to formulate certain suggestions/ recommendations
in order to minimise the use of force against the common man in the name
of national security by the security agencies.
Summary
The tribunal heard testimonies from about 37 victims
and their kin and we have also had testimonies/statements from journalists
and members of civil society.
It is clear that there is a sense of suffering and
injustice writ large on the faces of everyone who made their statements
before the tribunal. We had made it clear that we are not in any way
linked with the official institutions or authority and yet so many of them
gave vent to their feelings in their physical and emotional state, which
only strengthens our opinion that there is substantial truth in those
allegations.
It cannot be gainsaid that the Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act 1958 has been in force for nearly two decades in this state.
This act has been misused and is being misused wherever it is made
applicable (Manipur, for example). Therefore if we take this situation
into account, this draconian law has undoubtedly facilitated grave human
rights abuses including “disappearances” by the very nature of the power
bestowed on the armed forces.
Any abuse of powers by the armed forces is a criminal
offence. It should promptly be investigated by an agency independent of
the armed forces, followed by impartial prosecution. The testimonies of
all witnesses clearly establish that there has been no satisfactory
investigation by any agency or authority in the state, leave alone any
prosecution. On the other hand, we get an impression that all institutions
of the state, the executive, the legislature, the human rights commission
and to a certain extent even the judiciary have failed to do justice to
the victims of “disappearances” and other human rights violations.
The United Nations General Assembly in 2006 has
unanimously adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Earlier, there was the UN declaration
to the above effect (December 1992). Article 2 of the declaration says
that, “the prohibition” of “disappearances” is absolute and no state can
find an excuse. Article 7 says: “no circumstances, whether a threat of
war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be
invoked to justify” these acts of violation. Hence it is not open to the
state to resort to enforced disappearances, which would include all
custodial deaths, on the ground of any threat to internal security or
external safety and stability. It is here the state’s liability becomes
absolute and we should have no hesitation in making these observations.
We have the testimony of Ms Parveena Ahangar, who is
the chairperson of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP),
which clearly establishes that 8-10,000 persons have disappeared from
about 1989. Incidentally, we may point out that during the period
1984-1994, during the agitation for Khalistan in Punjab, there had been
similar disappearances and recently a report based on the State’s Human
Rights Commission shows that over 2,059 bodies were identified in Amritsar
district and still over 1,000 bodies are lying there in the district and
there are a large number of skeletons in other districts. Moreover,
internationally, disappearances and “custodial deaths” fall within the
definition of “torture”. Prohibition of torture and ill treatment is
underlined by its non-derogable status in human rights laws. No state can
justify such an act.
General findings
1) Various instances of the security forces’ crimes
have been brought to our notice. These are violations against the Geneva
Conventions (Common Articles 2/3), the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the Indian Penal Code and the civil law of the country.
The police/paramilitary and surrendered militants have flouted Indian laws
and the rules of war. As a consequence, large numbers of civilians have
died, including women and children. Women, including young girls, have
been harassed, raped and gang-raped and children in their early teens
shot.
2) The judicial machinery has barely functioned.
Despite the stern report of the Bijbehara magisterial inquiry,
recommending the severest action against the BSF (Border Security Force)
officers and jawans, nothing was done. A number of cases filed in the
district and high courts have been pending for years and there are
numerous cases of lack of judicial action taken in terms of awarding
compensation and instructing the security forces to produce the
disappeared and so forth.
The tribunal heard repeated examples of FIRs (first
information reports) filed by the families that were distorted by the
police to accuse the victims. Counter-FIRs have also been lodged by the
police… Under the pretext of translating FIRs from Urdu into English, the
police have completely distorted the complaints made in the original FIR.
One such case with evidence was produced before the Independent People’s
Tribunal.
The State Human Rights Commission has no power to
investigate paramilitary and military excesses though it does have the
power to request investigation reports of the inquiry by the paramilitary
and the military forces. The SHRC seems to have failed to exercise its
powers proactively to provide justice to the victims. The general trend is
that the state as well as the central government ignores the
recommendations made by this commission.
3) Rape: The worst case of mass rape was heard
by the women jurists from the testimonies of women from Kunan Poshpora,
who talked about the night of February 23, 1991 when the army came to
their village, isolated the men and gang-raped at least 23 women of all
ages from 14 to even a 100-year-old woman. The rape took place in front of
their young children. There was brutal impact on their bodies and since
then, they have suffered physical and mental trauma for years. They have
been socially discriminated and ostracised, landing them into a traumatic
state of mind that has been permanent. This is the grossest of human
rights violations.
4) Throughout the conflict people have been maimed and
disabled due to the indiscriminate firing by security forces during even
non-violent protests. People have also been disabled during interrogations
where torture was used. We heard the testimonies from Bijbehara where
forces had indiscriminately opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in 1993.
Many injured persons have been disabled for life and have suffered
mentally, physically and financially. Hardly any steps have been taken for
their rehabilitation.
The testimonies we heard from disabled persons revealed
that they were totally shocked and shattered. The disabled deposed before
us to say that they could bear with the aftermath of physical injury but
not with the mental pain, agony and trauma that make them feel that they
die several deaths every day rather than living even once…
Custodial killings
There have been a large number of custodial killings
since the conflict began. The pattern in most cases is similar even though
the perpetrators may be from different forces serving the Indian state.
The cases cited represent the dominant form of this method of violation of
human rights. We are citing illustrative testimonies of victims, relatives
of victims and others with first-hand information to illustrate our
findings.
Testimonies
Masooda Parveen, representing the late Advocate Ghulam
Mohiddin Regoo
Relation with victim: Wife
Resident: Pampore
District: Pulwama
“I am a mother of two. At the time of the incident my
husband was a practising lawyer. On February 1, 1998, at around 9 o’clock,
my husband had just returned from the mosque after offering the last
prayer of the day. Two renegade militants – Bashir Ahmad and Abdul Khaliq
– entered our house. Bashir’s face was partially covered with a
handkerchief. He caught hold of my husband’s collar and alleged that a
militant – Arshid Ahmad Ganaie – was hiding in our house. In fact, Arshid
was already in their custody, in a car parked outside our house. The two
people took my husband with them and a few days later his mauled dead body
was returned to us. Major Poniyal of the Jat Regiment stationed at
Laidpora, Pulwama, was involved in bringing all of this about. At the time
of handing his body over to me they also gave me the relevant documents
and the copy of the FIR.
“I approached the government authorities in order that
the culprits are brought to book but to no avail. The district
administration had offered me a job but later declined to acknowledge they
had ever done that. When I contacted the local MLA regarding the matter,
he avoided me. I approached the then chief minister, Mr Farooq Abdullah,
but he shooed me away, stating that I was the wife of a ‘traitor’. My son,
who is an agriculture graduate, has been constantly denied a passport by
the state. I myself wanted to take the case of my husband’s gruesome
murder to a UN body but was also denied a passport. I am now contesting my
case in the Supreme Court with the hope that we get justice and my sons
can travel abroad for their advanced studies. When the Supreme Court
called for the records of our case from the police, they stated that they
had lost the file. In the meantime, our harassment by the state continues
as has been the case since my husband’s brutal murder.”
***
The case of Gh Qadir Pandit is a striking instance of
the state of the judiciary and police. Even after the sessions court
concluded the “custodial death”, which was reported to the Jammu and
Kashmir high court, the high court directed the concerned sessions court
to start investigations after three years of their filing the case. The
police refused to file an FIR on the ground of jurisdictional ambiguity.
The victim’s family then filed an application in the high court seeking
directions to specify the police station under whose jurisdiction the case
fell but no orders were passed. Mr Pandit’s brother’s comment that he was
“…so disillusioned with the justice delivery system in Kashmir that I
thought it best not to follow up on the case any further” sums up a common
criticism of the judicial system, the SHRC and the police.
***
Gh Qadir Teli, whose son was a victim, was himself
severely tortured and stripped naked by the 21 RR (21 Rashtriya Rifles).
He also filed petitions in the Jammu and Kashmir high court and SHRC about
his missing son but nothing concrete happened.
Gh Qadir Teli
“My son was a 17-year-old school dropout and had
started working on our farm. He had three elder sisters and was the only
substantial source of income for our family. I got him married in 2006, in
district Baramulla. On the fateful day of November 25, 2006 he was not
feeling well and had gone to see a doctor, Dr Habibullah Mattoo, in Sopore.
While he had been waiting for his turn at the clinic, a fellow villager
had called him on his mobile phone, which is when he had confirmed his
location. At around 1 o’clock in the afternoon I saw a huge crowd outside
my house. Some people standing close by advised me against going home at
that time, as there the army had raided my house and were searching it.
Disturbed by the gravity of the situation, I thought of calling my son. I
went to a phone booth to make the call but his cellphone was switched off.
“During this time the rest of my family inside the
house was being harassed by the army. Finally, I reached home at around
9:30 in the evening but my son was nowhere to be seen. For the next three
days there was no news of him. I registered a missing report at the police
station on December 8, 2006. However, the army – led by some DSP (deputy
superintendent of police) Tickoo – raided my house soon after and asked
for the original copy of the report, which I had to hand him out of fear.
Fortunately enough, I had already made photocopies. I then returned to the
concerned police station and lodged a fresh complaint.
“A few days following this the army came looking for me
but somehow I managed to get away. But on another occasion the 21 RR
raided my house again and took me into custody. They then took me to
Handwara where I was severely tortured while being stripped naked. You can
imagine what I might have gone through considering it was the body of an
old man they were inflicting inhuman treatment on. They were trying to
coerce me to accept that my son was a militant and that I had ammunition
in my possession but I didn’t succumb. When they released me, I filed an
application with the district magistrate reiterating that I had been
subjected to illegal detention and torture and that the whereabouts of my
son were unknown. I also filed petitions in the Jammu and Kashmir high
court and the SHRC but nothing has come out of them.”
***
Enforced disappearance
One of the most harrowing consequences of the armed
conflict in Kashmir is that people in detention go missing. The majority
of missing persons are men, which leaves a large number of women awaiting
news that would decide their fate, living lives of half-widows. A state
like this results in a severe identity crisis amongst the women – with the
immense agony of not being sure whether they are still married or widowed.
Enforced disappearances in Kashmir started in 1989
following the outbreak of armed conflict. The state has seen heavy
deployment of security forces (more than 6,00,000 – the highest number of
army personnel during peacetime anywhere in the world) since.
In international human rights law, disappearances at
the hands of the state have been codified as enforced or forced
disappearances. The Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal
Court defines enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity. However,
the police do not entertain missing reports with regard to these persons.
The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, an
organisation founded by concerned persons in Kashmir, has been demanding
the whereabouts of people who have been subjected to enforced custodial
disappearance by various security agencies, troops and police – mostly
since the break out of armed rebellion in 1988. Even though the
association continues to highlight their sufferings and their demands,
their genuine pleas and grievances are yet to strike the conscience of the
so-called elected representatives of the people.
According to the International Convention on Enforced
Disappearances, no exceptional circumstances whatsoever – whether a state
of war, a threat of war, internal political instability or any other
public emergency – may be invoked as a justification for enforced
disappearance and the state is under an obligation to investigate acts of
enforced disappearance.
Testimonies
Zahoor Ahmad Mir, representing Ali Mohd Mir
Relation with victim: Son
Resident: Nishat
District: Srinagar
“My father, namely Ali Muhammad, was killed by Ghulam
Ahmad alias Papa Kishtwari on June 26, 1996. I filed a case in the high
court in the year 2006. I also filed a case in the SHRC in the year 2007.
After I got the case registered, it pressurised the police and only then
could I get an FIR lodged against Papa Kishtwari in the concerned police
station. Papa Kishtwari is a surrendered militant and is now a
government-sponsored person. He even won uncontested elections. Papa
Kishtwari is believed to have committed 150 murders but only 26 are
registered against him. His accomplices have been left free. I want my
father’s dead body. Papa Kishtwari is in jail because of me but he is not
being punished. I want justice.”
***
Abdul Rashid Beigh, representing Fayaz Ahmad Beigh
Relation with victim: Father
Resident: Khajapora, Nowshera
District: Srinagar
“My son, namely Fayaz Ahmad Beigh, was working as a
photographer in the department of Central Asian studies at the University
of Kashmir. He was arrested during his duty hours by HR Parihar, SP
(superintendent of police), STF (Special Task Force), at Awantipora on
September 6, 1997 and was taken to some unknown destination along with his
motorcycle. When my son didn’t return, I set to locate his whereabouts. I
approached STF and SOG (Special Operations Group) officials through the
SP, operations, Awantipora, who, after taking a lot of time, admitted my
son’s detention. But my efforts brought no results. I haven’t seen my son
till date. The STF agency concocted a baseless story that my son had
escaped from custody.
“The SHO (station house officer), Soura, namely Abdul
Rashid Khan alias Rashid Billa, is hand in glove with the criminals. He
has given a legal cover to my son’s disappearance and has created false
evidence by registering a false case against him. I approached the then
home minister, Ali Mohammad Sagar, to seek his help in order to locate my
son. He ordered a CID inquiry. The IG (inspector-general), CID, submitted
its report stating that Fayaz Ahmad Beigh was arrested from the university
campus and the story put forth by the STF was proved false.
“I approached the SHRC and registered a complaint (File
No. SHRC /2008/09) in December 1997. The complaint was disposed of on
April 3, 2000. The SHRC in its order rejected the STF/police story of
Fayaz Ahmad’s escape from custody as ridiculous and recommended a
compensation of Rs five lakh. The SHRC also directed the registration of a
criminal case against SP Parihar and his subordinates. Unfortunately, the
then state government did not pay any heed to the recommendations of the
SHRC and left the case virtually unattended for years together. In the
meanwhile, we also filed a habeas corpus petition (HCP No. 1411/97) in the
high court wherein we prayed to show the case of detention of my son and
the authority and law under which my son was detained. However, we were
made to withdraw the writ petition on the ground that the case was already
pending with the SHRC.
“Later on, in order to get the recommendations of the
SHRC implemented, I filed a writ petition in the high court (OWP No.
263/OWP-2002). The hon’ble high court in its subsequent decision upheld
the recommendations of the SHRC and directed the state government to
execute the recommendations given by the SHRC. It is painful to note that
the government has slept over the matter and shown no response even to the
high court’s decision. In January 2004 the home department and SP,
operations, HR Parihar, filed an appeal against the order passed by the
high court division bench, Srinagar, on admission of the LPA (182/03). The
hon’ble chief justice directed the trial court to pass an appropriate
order in session of challan (239/97). On our application, the trial
court, Srinagar, passed an order on December 12, 2007 that criminal
proceedings cannot be started against a dead person; therefore the
challan has been consigned to records after due compliance.
“The case is still pending before the division bench.”
***
Rape cases
Rape is a particularly heinous crime. It has been used
as a method of humiliating an individual and community and destroying
their honour. Since the stigma never goes away, the victim is shunned and
shamed for life.
Testimonies from Kunan Poshpora village
Kunan Poshpora mass rape: On the intervening night
of February 23 and 24, 1991 about 23 women from Kunan Poshpora village in
the border district of Kupwara were raped by the troops of the 4 Rajputana
Rifles during a search operation. As per reports, at around 11:00 p.m.
army personnel in large numbers entered the village. This was followed by
the segregation of women from men. While the men were asked to assemble in
a village field, the women were ordered to stay put inside the houses.
This is when the army men barged into the households and gang rapes
followed. Reportedly, women from ages 13-80 were raped. One such woman,
who is now 120 years of age, stated that she was stripped naked, dragged
out of her house into the snow-filled front yard and gang-raped. A police
investigation into the incident never occurred.
Bakthi (victim)
Wife of Mohd Siddiq
Resident: Kunan Poshpora
District: Kupwara
“On the night of February 23, 1991 our village was
cordoned off by a large group of drunken army personnel. The next morning
I came to know that other women from the village had similarly suffered.
At this point the menfolk who had been assembled in the village field
during the search operation the preceding night were being asked by the
army to raise their hands in agreement and say aloud that no excesses had
been committed in the village, and were being filmed while doing so. This
is when we womenfolk went over to the field in half-naked condition to
make it known to the men what had happened to us. On seeing us, the men
lost their cool and refused to accept what they were being ordered to say.
“On getting home, the men too shared their stories of
torture that had been inflicted on them by the army. Learning of the
brutality that had been meted out to the women in the village, the men
tried to file FIRs, which was a daunting task in context of the fear of
reprisal by the concerned army men. There was no primary health centre
nearby where we womenfolk could have got ourselves examined in order to
collect medical evidence.
“At the time of the incident I was 30 years old. Within
a year of the incident four women from our village – Saja, Mehtaba, Zarifa
and Jana – succumbed to death stemming from the mental trauma and disgrace
they had to put up with. These women had also been struggling with
physical ailments subsequent to the incident. The self-humiliation
resulting from our traumatic experience didn’t allow us to visit any of
our relatives from other villages, nor did they pay us a visit. We also
had to take our children out of school for fear of their being apprehended
and tortured by the army. My son and many young men from the village grew
up harbouring vengeance in their hearts for what had been done to the
women in their families.
“Following the incident of mass rape in the village,
proposals of marriage stopped coming from outside our village, since the
news of the rapes had become common knowledge all around the valley. As a
consequence, marriages between victim relatives from within our village
started to take place. Many people came to our village for documenting or
reporting the wrong that was done to us and we shared our stories with
them yet justice has eluded us to date. Now we are disillusioned and
personally I find it despairing and difficult to revisit that harrowing
ordeal of ours by narrating it to people time and again. At the same time,
the mental and physical pain suffered that night and after continues to
haunt me. My old husband has died and now it is my last wish that the
guilty army personnel be punished. I had lodged an FIR bearing No.
RI/1387/83 under the Ranbir Penal Code, Sections 376, 452 and 342, at the
Trehgam police station on March 2, 1991. However, nothing came of it.”
***
Faba (victim)
Resident: Kunan Poshpora
District: Kupwara
“I was approximately 25 years old and a mother of two
at the time of the incident. At around 11:00 p.m. on February 23, army
personnel barged into our house. They caught hold of my husband and were
taking him away when I insisted on accompanying him. My husband stopped me
by saying that I should wait for him at home, as he would be back in some
time and there was nothing to worry. Therefore I stayed back and bolted
the doors of my house. After a while, there was a loud knock at the door.
On noticing that my house had been surrounded by the army, I did not
unlock the door. At this, eight to 10 army men broke the door open, barged
in and raped me and my unmarried sister. My sister is now suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder. With great difficulty we were eventually
able to get my sister married to someone from the same village, whose
family had suffered likewise. Post-rape, she even delivered a baby who did
not survive. Within two to three months of the incident, a lady doctor was
called into the village for conducting abortions on women who had
conceived as a result of the rapes. My son was five to six years old at
the time of the incident and he now faintly remembers what had happened to
me and his aunt that night.
“The women from the village tried to preserve their
clothes for some time in order to substantiate rape and showed them to the
media or any other authorities who came to the village for
investigating/reporting rape. Currently those clothes are in police
custody.”
***
The judges asked the victims if any magisterial inquiry
had taken place after the incident, as reports have suggested. The victims
replied by saying that there were many people who came and asked questions
after the incident; however, they do not know of their identities. In an
aside, the victims collectively testified that they refrained from
discussing the rapes with or in presence of their sons, apprehensive that
they might take matters into their own hands. They added that on the next
morning after the rapes a local resident, Abdul Ghani Dar, who was also a
police constable, called a lady doctor to conduct check-ups of the victim
women. (The said police constable’s cousin was also a victim and she had
later conceived as a result of the rape. The foetus was later aborted.)
The said doctor conducted a medical check-up of all the
women who had been raped and their clothes were taken to Trehgam police
station later on. The doctor medically cleansed all of the raped women in
order to prevent pregnancies. The victims stated that the police constable
had taken the initiative of getting this done in order to save the village
from humiliation. On February 17, 1993 an unidentified person killed the
said policeman. His parents are still alive but his mother lost mobility
and his father became a patient of depression after their son died.
The victims reported that women from Kunan Poshpora
faced social rejection for many years after the incident; to the extent
that they were not allowed seats in public transport by fellow passengers.
Instead, they were made to sit on the floor, away from the others. On
being asked by the judges what they expected from the tribunal, the
victims replied in unison that they wanted the perpetrators to be
punished.
The then chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir high
court, Justice Mufti Baha-ud-din, led a fact-finding mission to the
village and concluded that normal investigative procedures were blatantly
disregarded in this case. A Press Council of India investigation followed,
which called the allegations of these women “a well-fabricated bundle of
lies”. No further investigations were conducted and the matter remains
unredressed till date. The government’s handling of the case was widely
criticised in national and international circles, including international
human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International.
If such an incident had occurred in the rest of India,
there would have been a sustained public outcry and agitation. The
judiciary would also have responded.
1. The controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
1958 should be withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir
Public Safety Act 1978 and other anti-terror laws should correspond to the
provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
which India has ratified. It should be noted that India has been
repeatedly criticised in the UN Human Rights Committee for the existence
of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act which violates, crucially,
several articles of the ICCPR.
2. Keeping in view the large concentration of military
and paramilitary forces in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is
disproportionate to the civilian population and is also making civil
administration ineffective in many matters, the government of India should
take immediate steps to minimise the number of these forces in order to
bring relief to the civilian population.
3. We recommend the establishment of a special judicial
authority making an independent and thorough inquiry into all allegations
of human rights violations, including disappearances, custodial killings,
rape, torture, including torture of prisoners, fake encounters, and all
other cases related to excesses by security forces.
4. Every case of killing by police and security forces
in situations like protests, demonstrations, riots, etc should be followed
by a judicial inquiry into the police/security forces firing/actions,
followed by proper, time-bound administrative action. It is made clear
that the police have no licence to kill anyone in any situation unless
they can justify this action under Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code,
which has to be done in a judicial procedure.
5. Provide proper rehabilitation to families of
deceased, injured and traumatised victims, especially the raped.
Compensation as interim relief should be arranged
promptly. Compensation should be adequate and purposeful. Compensation
should be for both injury to person as well as for damage to property i.e.
houses, etc.
6. The state should immediately establish fast track
courts for the purpose of trying the large number of cases which are
pending.
7. Both state as well as central governments should
take immediate steps to address the sufferings of detainees who are
languishing in various jails and interrogation centres in and outside the
state of Jammu and Kashmir and have been complaining of torture and
inhuman treatment inside the jails.
8. The state should provide witness protection, since
many of the witnesses are being threatened.
9. It is necessary that the government should first
establish a “Grievance Cell” in every town where armed forces are
deployed. These cells will receive complaints regarding allegations of
missing persons or abuse of law by security/armed forces, make prompt
inquiries and furnish information to the complainants. The cell should
have the full authority to inspect and call for every record maintained by
the security forces or by the local authorities.
10. As a confidence building measure, the government
should hold talks with the Jammu and Kashmir representatives,
organisations of men and women, in Srinagar. Currently talks on these
matters are held in Delhi, including talks with Pakistan. The Kashmiris
find themselves out of the dialogue process, as no talks are held in
Srinagar.
t Justice H. Suresh, former Judge, Bombay High Court
t Justice Malay Sengupta, former Chief Justice, Sikkim
High Court
t Justice A. Barua, former Judge, Calcutta High Court
t Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, Delhi
t Dr Nusrat Andrabi, former Principal, Government
Women’s College, Srinagar
t Professor Anuradha Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, Delhi
t Shujaat Bukhari, senior Journalist, Srinagar n
(The Independent People’s Tribunal on Human Rights
Violations in Kashmir, organised by the Human Rights Law Network,
HRLN, and ANHAD, was held in Srinagar on February 20-21, 2010.)