STRUCTURES OF VIOLENCE

218 | Structures of Violence
Alleged Perpetrators
1. Captain Yadav, 2/8 Gorkha Ries, Army
Case Information
On 7 July 1997, Abdul Rashid Wani was abducted and
has disappeared since.
The family of the Abdul Rashid Wani led a petition
before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
64
[habeas corpus petition, HC 139/1997] .
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the
army unit implicated denied the arrest and detention
of Abdul Rashid Wani. Therefore, on 6 April 1999 an
enquiry was ordered, which was conducted by the
Court of Sessions Judge, Srinagar and concluded on
1 February 2001.
Rs. 1,00,000 ex-gratia government relief and Rs.
4,00,000 in lieu of compassionate employment under
SRO-43 [Statutory Rules and Orders] were received
by the family of the victim.
The only document on record for the purpose of
analysis is the 1 February 2001 enquiry report.
The enquiry report begins by noting that the
respondents in the case, Government of Jammu and
Kashmir, Director General of Police, [DGP], Jammu
and Kashmir, other police authorities and the army
unit implicated, appeared during the enquiry and
denied the arrest or detention of Abdul Rashid Wani.
The petitioner, Bilal Ahmad Mir, produced four
witnesses, including himself, during the enquiry. The
respondents did not choose to produce any evidence
despite time and opportunity.
The relevant evidence as produced by the petitioner
and witnesses was as follows:
- Farooq Ahmad Bhat, testied that on 7 July
1997 he was travelling in a Matador bus from Lal
Chowk to Rangreth when personnel of the 2/8
Gorkha Ries stopped the vehicle and brought
down the witness. Abdul Rashid Wani, who was
travelling on a scooter, was also stopped. Captain
Yadav arrested the witness and Abdul Rashid
Wani and made them sit in a vehicle and took
them to Sharifabad Camp. The witness was
released at 5:00 pm but the victim was not. The
witness testied that Abdul Rashid Wani was
known to him as he too was a driver. The witness
informed the family of Abdul Rashid Wani that he
had been arrested by Captain Yadav. On crossexamination,
the witness stated that he had not
seen Abdul Rashid Wani from the day of the
arrest.
- Bilal Ahmad Mir testied that “Manzoor
Ahmad Driver” informed him that “2/8 G.R”
arrested Abdul Rashid Wani from the Matador
bus. The witness went to the army camp but got
no information. The witness went to the police
station where an FIR was not registered but the
police entered a report in the Daily Diary.
- Shabnam, wife of Abdul Rashid Wani,
testied that in the evening they received
information that Abdul Rashid Wani had been
arrested by Captain Yadav while he was travelling
in a Matador bus. The witness testied that she
met with Captain Yadav who informed her that
Abdul Rashid Wani was with him and would be
released after two days. Subsequently, she once
again went, along with her parents, to meet
Captain Yadav who on this occasion denied the
arrest of Abdul Rashid Wani. In January 2000,
army personnel from the Sharifabad Camp came
to their residence and asked them to withdraw the
c a s e f r o m t h e c o u r t i n e x c h a n g e f o r
compensation. They also informed the witness
that they should not expect the “return of the dead
person”. The witness further stated that “Army
Captain informed her that Abdul Rashid Wani has
been buried at Rawalpora”. The witness then
went to the Rawalpora locality where the local
people conrmed that Captain Yadav had killed a
person during the night and the people of the
locality buried the body in the vicinity. In crossexamination,
the witness stated that the police
refused to register any case against the army.
- Azizi, mother-in-law of Abdul Rashid Wani,
testied on the same lines as witness Shabnam.
Additionally, the witness testied that Captain
Yadav admitted to the arrest of Abdul Rashid
Wani and promised his release “after two days
from 7 January 1997”. When the witness met
Captain Yadav subsequently he denied the arrest
of Abdul Rashid Wani.
The respondents did not adduce any evidence, and
the enquiry concluded by stating that the Captain
Yadav is responsible for the arrest and disappearance
of Abdul Rashid Wani. The evidence, and the
conclusions of the enquiry report are a strong
indictment of Captain Yadav. One area that would
require clarication is Bilal Ahmad Mir's evidence
where he refers to hearing of the abduction of Abdul
Rashid Wani from a “Manzoor Ahmad”. Further, the
evidence suggests that Abdul Rashid Wani was in the
Matador bus [this was also stated by witness
Shabnam] and not a scooter as claimed by Farooq
Ahmad Bhat. Notwithstanding these necessary
clarications, the enquiry report does strongly indict
the alleged perpetrator.
The IPTK does not have the record following the
enquiry report. But, a report entitled “In search of
vanished blood: the writ of habeas corpus in Jammu
64 Information on the petition number was sought through the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009 [RTI] on 2 July 2012. No
information was provided. Information on this petition was sought again on 4 April 2014.