KL Report

SRINAGAR

Human rights forum, the Voice of Victims (VoV), Thursday said that during its months long survey it succeeded in revealing the presence of more 130 unidentified bodies in scores of nameless mass graves in North Kashmir’s Sumbal Sonawari while as the group with help of locals discovered a unnamed grave yard in the same area.

VoV Coordinator Abdul Rouf Khan told CNS that an investigation team headed by Abdul Qadeer Dar, Executive Director visited the area and gathered information about the people who were buried in a major graveyard of Sumbal Sonawari Bhat Mohalla during the past 23 years.

VoV said that three dead bodied were buried in a single grave handed over to locals by the local police. “The locals told the VoV team that the troops and police used to bring dead bodies and hand over to them for burial. They revealed that these were being detained by the forces in nearby STF camp (Forces camp) and after killing them they were handing over these bodies to local Awqaf Committee for burial.”

Khan while quoting a local Manzoor Ahmad said that once troops brought a dead body and handed over to them for burial, they identified him  as a Pakistani militant but later he proved to be a resident of Kokernag Anantnag and a carpenter by profession who was picked up the Forces in South Kashmir and killed in North Kashmir. He said that his body was exhumed after a year from the grave yard.

“Investigation team in its survey found it correct as the martyred person labeled as terrorist by the armed forces, identified by them as Abu Hafiz resident of Pakistan and killed in Safapora ganderbal encounter was Abdul Rehman Padroo resident of Kokernag, by profession a carpenter who was picked up by the forces in Srinagar on December 08-2006 and later killed in fake encounter at Safapora ganderbal. State police also on January 28-2007 clearly stated that he was killed by SOG in a fake encounter in ganderbal and his body was exhumed from Bhatmohallah Sumbal grave yard.” VoV said.

According to VoV, Manzoor Ahmad a local told them that he is himself witness to burial of at least 20 burnt dead bodied, which Forces had killed during interrogation. Locals said that once they refused to bury unidentified dead bodies, armed forces started burying dead bodies inside the STF camp few meters away from the grave yard. They revealed that over 50 dead bodies have been buried inside the STF camp which is encircled by few government offices including CRPF camp.

“According to locals once an infamous and cruel police inspector Farooq Gadroo abducted and raped a teenage girl (name with held) of the area and later killed her. She was also buried inside the camp after they (STF) evacuated the camp, her body was also exhumed.” VoV claimed.

According to VoV, if the bodies buried in the Bhatmohalla Sumbal graveyard and the unnamed grave yard in the same area be identified many Indian troops and police personnel involved in the killing of these people would be exposed and the victims will get justice for which they are waiting since long.

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