Poonch: The disappearance of a mentally unstable youth has brought army and police on loggerheads in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
28-year-old Muhammad Junaid, son of Muhammad Nisar Khan of Shahpur area of Varanasi city in the northern state of Utter Pradesh went missing two days after he was arrested by the soldiers of Indian Army’s 1st Mahar from a nallah along the Krishna Gati sector of Poonch district on April 25 under suspicious circumstances, sources told GNS Monday.
On Sunday, army informs police that they have arrested a suspicious man along the LoC. However, the officer there refused to take the youth into custody without medical checkup.
“The army and police took the youth to sub-district hospital, Mendhar for medical checkup. While the army doctor declares the youth mentally and physically fit, the doctors at the SDH termed him insane (Medically unfit),” sources said.
They said the disagreement over the mental health of the youth led to heated exchange of words between the soldiers and the cops. In the meantime, sources said, cops searched the youth and recovered a chit from his pocket on which a telephone number was written.
“When the cops called on the number, the caller on the other side identified her as mother of the youth. She said her son was insane and the chit was put in his pocket in case if he goes missing,” sources said.
Angry soldiers led by a senior officer, sources said, left the hospital and took along the detained youth after police refused to buy their theory that the youth was mentally fit.
“However, hours later, an army team visited the police station, Mendhar and sought the custody of the youth. The cops were stunned to see army asking for a youth, who was already in their custody,” sources said.
Without much noise, sources said, the army team left from the police station. When contacted, SDPO, Mendhar Surinder Chaudhary said that the youth was in army’s custody. “There was no handover and takeover. The youth is in army custody,” he added.
Army’s senior defence ministry spokesperson, Col Munesh Mehta told GNS that he will look into the matter.