KL Report
SRINAGAR
MLA Langate and President Awami Ittihaad Party (AIP) Er Rashid has criticized a section of lawyers from Baramulla and Sopore for trying to “mislead the people and create confusion” over the death of Abdul Rahman Dar of Younsu, who died because the ambulance in which he was being shifted to SKIMS was stopped by the mobile magistrate and his subordinates near Seelu, Sopore on December 10, 2013.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Saturday, Rashid said that on an occasion when the whole world was celebrating international human rights day the incident should be a cause of concern for everyone. While welcoming the decision of High court to appoint a sitting judge to probe the whole incident, he termed the role and behavior of a section of lawyers as “inhuman, politically motivated and unfortunate.”
“We were expecting lawyers like other conscience citizens to express sympathy with the family of the bereaved but they have made it a point of ego and created chaos without thinking that their irresponsible behavior would hurt not only the family of late Abdul Rahman but also those who believe in upholding the supremacy of the lawm, Rashid said adding “I have nothing personal against the mobile magistrate or his subordinates but nobody can snatch the right of seeking justice and lodging an FIR against anybody of any stature and status. The ambulance in which the patient was traveling was having proper duty slip duly issued by District hospital Handwara and the ambulance was stopped in the broad day light. Rather than trying to stand by the victims’ side, a section of lawyers who took to streets has clearly tried to influence the inquiry being conducted by the Sopore police and DC Baramulla.”
Rashid said that right of every citizen to lodge FIR against any incident has been recently accepted by the Supreme Court as well, “how can somebody deny the same visa viz the said incident,” Rashid asked.
He further added, “The lawyers in Kashmir have always been raising their voice against the human rights violations and the incident that took place on the eve of HR day should have been a cause of great concern for them.”
He appealed the bar association to take full cognizance of the issue of taking to streets by few of their colleagues in Sopore and making a humanitarian issue a political one.
Rashid also expressed anger over the alleged failure of the state government not to take any action against the traffic officials who were directly involved in breaking the green light of the ambulance and humiliating the relatives accompanying the patient.
He further said that Chief Minister can’t run away from the responsibility by simply passing the buck through tweets but should have at least shown some morality and taken action against the traffic officials involved in the heinous crime.
Meanwhile Police on Saturday said that it has not registered an FIR particularly against Mobile Magistrate Manzoor Ahmed Khan for directing traffic cops to stop an ambulance ferrying a patient Abdul Rehman Dar that led to his death.
Reacting over the protest demonstrations by some Lawyers, Deputy Inspector General North Kashmir J.P.Singh told local news gathering agency CNS that Police has mentioned several accused in the FIR vide number 249/2013 under section 341.
“This FIR was not lodged particularly against Mobile Magistrate but police have lodged it against several traffic police cops,” Singh said adding that police had no option but to take action after MLA Langete as a citizen lodged a formal complaint against the incident in police station.
