The second thing administration did was to use excessive force on protestors. Police, CRPF and SOG barged into homes, beat up residents, enforced undeclared curfews and killed protestors. Tear gas shells were fired directly on protestors leaving some with fatal injuries.
Excessive curbs only led to more resentment among the population, stirring more protests everywhere. The situation which could have been limited to just a few villages got out of hand with disastrous results in entire valley. According to a Khalid Bhat, a resident of Shopian, “Over the years police is in habit of beating mourners. Here they even didn’t spare the father of Neelofer, who on the third day of her death had to gone offer prayers at her grave. Even his clothes were torn and he had to be rescued from a drain.”
Post Mortem
The administration failed the post mortem test in Shopian. Two autopsies were conducted and yet the cause of death kept a mystery. Autopsy reports are nowhere considered confidential, and can be acquired by anyone, particularly relatives of the deceased. Here the government has been found wanting in transparency over the autopsy report only to harm its own credibility.
The former Deputy Commisioner of Shopian had promised to make post mortem report public by Monday, after which people had agreed to bury the dead. The government, however, transferred him and kept the report under shrouds.
The doctors who conducted the second post mortem on the bodies had reportedly indicated a gang rape, a point contested by the administration. Transferring the DC and talking about action against doctors only erodes the faith in institutions.
Inquiry Committees
Two inquiry committees were made so far, two post mortems were done but the dead end remains.
The Divisional Commissioner first announced an inquiry committee under SP Pulwama. The second day CM announced a judicial commission to probe the incident.
The judicial commission came under fire as experts say the very basis of the working of this commission is flawed. The commission was set under the commission of inquiry act to look into causes and circumstances which lead to the death.
“The ideal case would have been that police should have conducted the investigation and come out with the findings. This commission will simply work on the reference of a death,” says Qayoom.
The commission is just a fact finding body, with no powers of giving any judgement. According to Supreme Court, such a commission can’t recommend anything and if they will, that is not binding for courts.
Cause of Death
For any post mortem report it doesn’t take more than couple of hours to declare the cause of death. If the duo had died by drowning, there should have been no doubt within the first hour of post mortem. The problem is that the Ranbir Nalla (Renb-e-Aar) is an ankle deep stream with remote possibility of anybody drowning in it. It is a roaring torrent only during floods.
According to a forensic science expert, “In such cases a diatom test is conducted wherein viscera organs and sample from long bone is sent to forensic science laboratory to ascertain the presence of any poison or drug in the body and the real causes of death.”
The eye witnesses at the incident of crime said that the neither of the two women had wet clothes when their bodies were recovered. The administration on the other hand has been saying that the bodies were in water, which incidentally provides a leeway for washing away of crucial clues. “Even though water might have washed away some clues including of rape, but FSL report can provide answers to almost all the queries,” says the forensic expert.
Although samples have been sent to FSL, two more questions arise, whether the state has such facilities and do they enjoy credibility.
“When the state agencies can fudge samples being sent to outside laboratories, one only imagines the case being here,” says Ashraf Qazi a school teacher. In 2003, it was revealed that the state officers had fudged the DNA
