Theft accused dies in police custody in J&K’s Ramban, magisterial probe ordered
Jammu, Feb 19 (IANS) Authorities on Wednesday ordered a magisterial probe into the death of a theft accused in police custody in J&K’s Ramban district.
An order issued by the district magistrate (DM) Ramban said, “Sh. Rizwan Asgar, JKAS, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Banihal is hereby appointed as an inquiry Officer to conduct the discrete inquiry into the matter leading to the death of one Sh. Mohd Abid, Son of Mohd Aslam, Resident of Thopal Tehsil Batote District, Ramban on 18.02.2025 at CHC Batote. “
The inquiry officer shall look into the cause and circumstances that led to the death of the above-named individual and shall fix the responsibility for the same. He shall submit his report within a week’s time positively from the date of issue of this order”.
Wednesday’s custodial death has come in the wake of two controversial deaths in J&K in which the attitude and response of police and the army had come into question.
On February 4, a civilian truck driver, Waseem Ahmad was killed in firing by the Army at Sangrama in the Sopore area. Army said the truck driver had been signalled to stop at a check post set up by the army following intelligence inputs about the movement of terrorists in the area. Waseem’s family refuted the army’s statement alleging that he had been killed in cold blood.
On February 6, 25-year-old Makhan Din, who belonged to the Gujjar community, committed suicide by consuming insecticides after alleged police torture in the Billawar area of J&K’s border district of Kathua. Makhan recorded a video before his death, stating he had no militant links and was brutally tortured by the police. In the purported 3.48-minute video, which was shot in a mosque, Makhan Din swears by the Almighty and Prophet that he has never seen militants.
“I was beaten by the policemen at the police station. They were asking me to tell the truth. I told them the truth that I had never seen the militants. I had to make a fake story because I was beaten ruthlessly by the cops in the police station,” said Makhan Din, a suspected Over Ground Worker (OGW) in the video, which went viral.
“When I made the concocted story and told them that I had seen militants and Swaru (his uncle who has been exfiltrated to Pakistan) and I had not told my family members, they stopped beating me. They let me go in the morning to bring my mobile phone to the police station,” he said.
–IANS
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