STRUCTURES OF VIOLENCE

25
| Structures of Violence
the time 7 RR was posted in Moominabad. There was a
camp in the same location where now there is an IMI girl's
school. It was election time. We used to play cricket on the
ground in Moominabad. One day, while playing cricket the
ball bounced onto the road and accidentally broke the
glass of an army vehicle. I was taken into the camp. No
one else from the group was taken as I was the one
fetching the ball from the road. I was tortured at the camp.
There was an officer, who was called “CM”. CM was a
Subedar. He was infamous in the area. CM himself beat
me, with sticks. He beat me the whole day in the camp out
in the open. Other army personnel were watching. He
finally left me at 4:00 pm. My neighbors came and
released me.
Then, I was picked up again in 1999, at Verinag. I had
gone to Verinag to recover some due payments for our
family's crockery business. The RR camp located there
[Noioora Camp] arrested me. Then there was army there
but now it is a CRPF camp. At that time there were also
Ikhwan present in that camp. The reason for my arrest
was that Mohammad Iqbal Kotwal alias Usman Kotwal –
nickname Kaka Kotwal was an Al-Jehad Commander of
Islamabad and was my cousin. Another cousin, Javed
Ahmad Kotwal was also in Al-Jehad. Kaka is alive, but
Javed was already dead. Another reason was also
because I had close contacts with Tariq Misgar. One of the
Ikhwan operating from the camp then was Aijaz [he was
killed sometime after this]. I was taken inside the camp
and handed over to the army, by the Ikhwan. I was tortured
by army personnel. The methods of torture included,
removing my toe nails, burning my back, beatings on the
back. They also stuck a heated needle into my penis. I
was made to sit on a lit stove. They placed a “blue lamp”
on the heels of my feet. I was released on the evening of
the same day. I didn't tell my family what had happened
immediately, and applied some first aid on my own on my
injuries. Later, I felt dizzy and went to district hospital for
treatment. My family members found out about the torture
through the doctors at the district hospital. I was then
taken to Soura Hospital where I was admitted for
treatment for one month. After I was released, I had to lie
on my back in bed for 9 months. I was confined to only one
room for 9 months. I got bed sores as well. A medicated
sheet was brought from the hospital. I started improving,
and regained my mobility gradually. Policemen from
police post Sherbagh used to come to the house and ask
me questions. Policemen from Sadder police station used
to also come. I used to be regularly called to the camp for
marking my “attendance”.
In 2005, on Eid-ul-Fitr there was a fight in Sherbagh. Two
boys fought and a policeman intervened. I questioned the
policeman who hit one of the boys. The policeman went in
and called some other police post Sherbagh personnel.
They came out from the police post, took me in and beat
me very badly. A friend took me home by auto. I don't
remember who was the Duty Officer then.
On 9 August 2008 another incident took place at the start
of the protests about the Amarnath land row. This was in
June. There was a procession, then there was lathi
charge by police followed by stone pelting by the crowd
and firing at the crowd by SOG. Three people were
seriously injured. The SOG was involved. The Duty
Officer of Sherbagh police post was Parvaiz at the time. I
was fired at, and my right leg was injured by a rubber
bullet. Ishfaq Ahmad Bhat and Atif were also injured.
There was a case registered against me.
Another FIR was filed against me in 2009 in a separate
incident involving an attack on a masjid. Sections used
were 148, 149, 197, 336, 427 RPC etc. However after that
I was not arrested in relation to this FIR.
In 2010, the Mona Lisa sex scandal was exposed. There
was a photo studio called Mona Lisa where Tahir was
involved in making pornographic films on CD. The studio
was owned by Pinta Parray, but Tahir was fully involved in
the whole business as Tahir had contacts with the army.
The films were being made for the army, and the women
were also sent to the army personnel. Young women were
being brought there and pornographic films were being
made using them. This was going on since 1998. About
30-40 girls were involved, most of them were doing it by
their own will, but some of them were trapped into it when
they approached the Mona Lisa studio. Pinta Parray was
blackmailed by one his employees about this and so he
approached Tahir and asked him to kill the salesman.
On 4 June 2010 during protests and stone pelting against
the Mona Lisa scandal I was caught by the CRPF. I was
beaten on the street itself. I fell unconscious. I was taken
to the Saddar police station and then to the district
hospital. I remained in coma for one month. People
thought that I had been killed. A crowd gathered at the
hospital to ensure police did not take me away. The police
deployed a cordon at the hospital. Then the police
conducted an attack on the hospital. The police had come
from police lines. Duty Officer Parvez was commanding
them. Many hospital patients were injured in the raid. I
was taken to SKIMS, Srinagar for treatment. I could not
talk for about 3 months after that.
In September 2010 when there were protests against the
burning of the Quran I protested too and again, I was fired
at. Officer Rani, DSP of CRPF of Animal Husbandry office,
Sarnal was brought in to control crowds. The bullet grazed
my right leg. I went to someone's house and got some
medicine for my injury. I stayed in a house in a village and
administered the medicines myself, without going to a
hospital. I then went home after four days. But the injury
did not heal fully and in 2012, it suddenly started leaking
lot of puss and blood. I used to occasionally get stitches
put on the wound but the stitches kept coming off. Finally I
was taken to Soura hospital for treatment. I had surgery
and I was admitted for three months and then my leg got
better.
I have travel restrictions imposed by the court. Once in
2013 I was heading to Jammu but I was caught by Banihal
Police and brought back. I have been wearing a support
belt from last two years around my back for spinal support,
due to the chronic pain.
Reprisals
Besides repeated victimization of individual, the armed
forces also carried out exercises of collective punishment
of communities and/or reprisals on family members of
militants.
Mehrajuddin Bichoo [Testimony no.18] testies to an
important incident where the CRPF burnt down numerous
shops and homes as retaliation to an attack on them:
On 27 October 1990, members of JKLF hurled a grenade
on a CRPF vehicle. The vehicle upturned, causing the
death of 5-6 people. CRPF Personnel started picking up
the dead bodies and within a few minutes more troops of
the CRPF, stationed outside Islamabad [either Andernag
or Lal Chowk] arrived at the site of the incident. Abdul Gani