Tral : Nothing can be more tragic than seeing a father shouldering the coffin of his son. For Government school Principal Muzaffar Wani these are strange times. He has just buried his elder son – in what army called exchange of fire between army and militants but termed fake encounter by family . But Muzaffar has seen enough summers not to know what lies ahead for his other son, Burhan- the HM commander.
Outside the tent where Muzaffar is being consoled by neighbours and friends,in hushed tones people predict the tough days ahead for the family.” It is a bygone conclusion that Burhan who is with HM will ever return back. We in the village will one day be grieving for him as there is no chance that security forces not get him.We are all mentally preapared. The family of this old will almost be wiped out”, says a neighbout who did not wish to be identified.
“On that fateful day, he left home at 12 noon for his diagnostic laboratory. At around 4.30 pm, I received a call from one of my relatives that security forces had neutralized some person in Kamla Forests and that it was my son Khalid. I didn’t believe him. I then called many persons in that neighbourhood, and they confirmed that they had seen Khalid in a nearby area at about 1 pm. Another call proved my worst fear – it was indeed Khalid, who was dead. His body was lying in Kamla forests,” a grieving Muzaffar Wani said.
“I would have had no regrets if my other son, Burhan, was killed because he has chosen his path to attain martyrdom. But what was the fault of that noble soul – Khalid – who was killed for no fault of his,” he rued.
Khalid, 23, was pursuing his Masters in Economics as well as working part time as a technician in his uncle’s diagnostic laboratory. He was killed on April 13 in what army described as an exchange of fire between terrorists and army men. Khalid was the brother of Burhan Muzaffar, presently the topmost commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, who joined militant ranks in 2010. Burhan was just 15-year-old, studying in 10th class when he had joined militant ranks.
A teary-eyed Shah Enayat, one of Khalid’s childhood friend and also his closest friends, recalled an incident amid wave of anger. “Khalid was frequently summoned to police stations and army camps to know about Burhan’s whereabouts. They were harassing, abusing and mentally tormenting him. Once, when he came back to his room after visiting the police station after a summon, he was in tears. He ripped apart his shirt and cried loudly ‘what is my fault if my brother is a militant?’” Enayat, who is pursuing B Tech from an Engineering college in Haryana, said.
After the ‘encounter’, the army had claimed Khalid was working as an over ground worker (OGW) for the Hizb-ul Mujahideen and that he was “killed in an encounter in Kamla Forest in Buchoo area of Tral on Monday evening. He had visited his militant brother with some food along with three other friends for recruitment purpose who were subsequently arrested from the encounter site.”
But Khalid’s family and other locals contested army’s claim that he was working as OGW. The family and locals maintained that Khalid was tortured to death. “There were visible marks of torture on his body. There was no bullet in his body. His face was mutilated, skull was cracked, nose was crushed and his eyes were severely damaged. There was not even a single teeth left in his mouth, which clearly indicates he was beaten to death,” his father claimed and added, “Moreover, he wore casual clothes when he left home, but we received his body in military fatigues.”
“Initially they tagged him as a militant, now as an over ground worker. If he was an OGW then give us the charge sheet mentioning his illegal and suspicious activities,” he demanded and claimed his son was innocent and had nothing to do with militancy.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police, SJM Geelani had said that they were waiting for the post mortem report of the slain youth to ascertain whether he was killed due to bullet injuries or not.
Condemning Khalid’s killing in the strongest words, Mushtaq Ahmed, Tral MLA from Peoples Democratic Party, termed it as a brute and barbaric murder and impressed the need for justice for the bereaved family. “I request the government to conduct a judicial enquiry in this incident. The innocent youth was ruthlessly murdered by security forces. We will never tolerate human rights violation in the state,” Ahmed said.(Coutesy TCN)