More than a hundred people who died in the summer unrest may just be statistics for the authorities but not for their families. Shams Irfan visits the family of Ghulam Nabi Mir who was beaten fatally allegedly by police and CRPF men.
On October 7, only a few meters away from famous Sufi saint Sheikh Shreef-u-din Wali’s final resting place in Namblabal Pampore, 55-year-old Ghulam Nabi Mir was beaten ruthlessly by paramilitary CRPF and police. After fighting for life for a week in a hospital, he lost the battle and became victim number 111 of summer unrest.
Mir’s elder brother Abdul Rashid Mir, a retired administrative officer said that he was only a few meters from the place where his younger brother was beaten to death.
“For them [the government] my brother is just another number. They say, ‘He happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time’,” said Rashid with anger in his voice.
Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir are protected by the draconian laws like the much debated Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), and people often think it is futile to file a complaint against such atrocities.
But for Rashid, who is in his late fifties, getting justice for his deceased brother at any cost is his priority now. Mir was the sole bread winner for his family and is survived by four daughters (all studying) and a mentally challenged son.
“I remember clearly, there were no protests, no stone-throwing incidents whatsoever on that day,” said Rashid. “It was relatively peaceful outside so I went out to sit with my friends.
“Around 06:30 in the evening we saw a joint patrol party of CRPF and police march towards the main chowk. We didn’t panic or run as we were all aged men there. And they passed by us silently.
“But as soon as the last man passed us, we decided to leave. You never know from which direction trouble arrives,” he added quickly, as if the scene was still fresh in his mind.
At almost the same time when Rashid left for his home, his brother came out to buy fruits for his daughters.
A neighbour who witnessed the incident later told him that CRPF and policemen came charging towards people and started beating them mercilessly without any provocation. It is said that they were angered by the complaints lodged by the locals, earlier that day against police excesses in the area. They left quickly, leaving behind six-injured people including Mir and 70-year-old Abdul Ahad Gilkar, a retired school teacher who is still nursing his fractured arm.
“They (police and CRPF men) were screaming and swearing loudly. I saw them beating people. Somebody was on the ground and was screaming for help, they were kicking him and trashing him with bamboo sticks. But as it was dark, I could not recognize the person or see his face clearly,” said Rashid.
Later he realized that it was his brother whom he had seen on the ground crying for help. “They were beating him with gun-butts and canes and kicking continuously,” he said in a voice full of guilt.
After CRPF and police left, two local boys removed Mir to the nearby hospital on a scooter. From there he was immediately referred to SKIMS, Srinagar. He had lost lot of blood due to multiple head injuries.
Immediately afterwards, Mir’s wife lodged an FIR with the local police station against unidentified men-in-uniform for assaulting her husband on that day. At the hospital Mir was put on three-tier ventilator.
“An attendant at the hospital told me that before slipping into coma my brother was screaming and begging, ‘don’t kill me, I have four daughters, don’t beat me’,” Rashid said.
Rashid intends to bring his brother’s killers to justice.
“I made it clear to the Station Head Officer [SHO] of Pampore that under no circumstances are we going to take our complaint back. So don’t even think of pressurising us or harassing the family,” he added.
After one week of hope and prayers Mir breathed his last on October 14.
His body was taken out of the hospital through back door as police wanted to conduct an autopsy, which Mir’s family didn’t allow. “He was beaten ruthlessly. What did they want to prove by an autopsy when everything was in front of our eyes,” Rashid asks scornfully.
“Look at his family. He has got four daughters, all unmarried and a son who cannot take care of himself. Who will look after them now?” Rashid asked pointing towards his brother’s 27-year-old mentally challenged son Muzamil Nabi. “He doesn’t even know what he has lost.”
Hope and anger
“I know getting justice in Kashmir is very difficult. But I have faith in God. I will fight till my last breath to bring the murderers of my brother to justice,” said Rashid optimistically.
Mir’s eldest daughter Shazia who is pursuing Masters in Education wants the murderers of her father to die even more brutally. “I have no mercy for them. They have ruined our beautiful world. Our dad meant everything for us. May God kill them all and send them to hell,” she said.
