RIYAZ UL KHALIQ
SRINAGAR
Residents of Srinagar’s Padshahi Bagh area Monday evening held anti administration and anti police protests here in busy Lal Chowk. The protestors alleged that police and civil administration is not coming out with truth in Zahid Iqbal’s murder case. They said that though the accused is in jail for last one and a half month, the police has yet to produce charge sheet in the case.
While protesting on busy Maulana Azad road, the family, relatives and neighbors of Zahid demanded police should come clean on the accused.
Pertinently, Zahid Iqbal, resident of Padshahi Bagh went ‘mysteriously’ missing on August 23 from his home. The family had called Zahid on his cell number which had been put on switch off mode.
According to family when Zahid did not return home till late evening, they started searching for him. “We tried a thousand times on his number but it was continuously on switch off mode,” his uncle Aijaz Ahmad told reporters here. “We started searching for him.”
The search operation continued for two days and on August 25 family of Zahid lodged a missing report with police station Rajbagh. “On 26th while searching for Zahid, we found his tortured body on the banks of river Jhelum near foot bridge Lal Chowk,” he said.
Aijaz said that police arrested a suspect namely Ruhail Ahmad who also hails from same area.
“Police swung into action and on August 27 arrested Ruhail and recovered cell phone of Zahid from his aunt who resides at Soura,” Aijaz added.
After digging deep into the investigations, police further recovered wrist watch and some clothes of Zahid from the accused, Aijaz continued.
The family alleges that the body of Zahid bore torture marks all over his body.
A letter published by Welfare Committee Padshahi Bagh who is leading the protest demonstration reads that the ‘murder’ of Zahid Iqbal is ‘unbelievable and questionable’.
The letter reads: “The incident is unbelievable and questionable that how an innocent boy 16 years of age, a class 11th student was abducted and latter murdered mysteriously.” It adds, “However, people of Padshahi Bagh and adjacent restraint themselves after seeing the dead body of the beloved one.”
The protestors blocked Maulana Azad road for almost one hour demanding justice in the case.
The protestors said that they cooperated with both the police stations viz Rajbagh and Sadder. They claim that police assured them that the culprits would be punished under law. “But police did nothing in since the accused was arrested,” one of the protestors said, adding, “they are now delaying the case saying that Zahid died of drowning which is a blatant lie.”
The protestors alleged that the police is ‘sabotaging the entire episode and playing with the sentiments of family, relatives and local residents’.
The letter that has been signed by the committee members appeals the government to intervene into the matter so that justice prevails. The protestors latter dispersed off peacefully.
