KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
The family members of the Kashmiri prisoners lodged in in New Delhi’s Tihar jail Saturday staged a protest in Press Enclave Srinagar. They said these prisoners are on a hunger strike ‘from past many days to protest against the atrocities’ committed on them by jail authorities and ‘illegal’ shifting from Srinagar to Tihar by National Investigating Agency (NIA).
Mushtaq Ahmed Lone son of Abdul Hamid a resident of Kanilwan Bijbehara town of South Kashmir’s Islamabad district according to his family members was asked to report at police station Rajbagh in June 2014. “Mushtaq who was recently married and is a shopkeeper by profession was allowed to go to home after being questioned by a team of NIA at police station Rajbagh. Next day, he received a call from a police official who directed him to report at PS Rajbagh again and since then he has been in the ‘illegal’ custody of NIA. Mushtaq has been lodged in Tihar Jail and we still don’t know what he has done. We are told that he is involved in Hawala racket. Mushtaq is innocent. No charge sheet against him has been produced by NIA yet in any court of law. He is under trial and can be put to trial in Kashmir also,” Sajad Ahmed, the brother of the Kashmiri prisoner told CNS.
Her mother Raja Banoo who was part of protest said that Mushtaq is on hunger strike since August 25. “His only demand is that he should be shifted to any other jail in Kashmir. Recently India claimed that it arrested a Pakistani national in Udhampur. When he can be lodged in state jail, why my son was illegally shifted from Srinagar and confined in high risk ward of Tihar Jail,” she said.
Another protesting family from Chechilora Tangmarg area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district express the concern over the worsening health of Muzafar Dar, who according to them is also on hunger strike and has been languishing in Tihar Jail without any trial from past six years. “Criminals, rapists, dacoits of other states lodged in the jail avail all kinds of facilities while Kashmiri inmates shut up in the jail for alleged anti-India activities are not only harassed but also given a cruel treatment. My brother was arrested for his alleged affiliation with militant outfit Hizbul Mujahedeen from Sadrabal Hazratbal area of Srinagar city in April 2009 has been kept in High Risk Ward. From past six years, he has been dying in Tihar and the government of India is in no mood either to expedite the investigation or shift them to Kashmir,” said Irfan Ahmed.
The protesting families who carried placards and banners alleging that NIA has been implicating the innocent Kashmiri youth on false charges and without wasting any time, shift them to outside state jails.
