STRUCTURES OF VIOLENCE

514 | Structures of Violence
As per a letter dated 23 October 2000 from the Senior
Superintendent of Police [SSP], Srinagar to the
Deputy Superintendent of Police [DSP], and a
member of the Special Investigating Team, the case
was closed as chargesheeted against the alleged
perpetrators but was pending production as Major
Avtar Singh had not been apprehended.
Various attempts were made to extradite Major Avtar
Singh from Canada, and then the United States, where
he had ed after being allowed to acquire a passport.
On 9 June 2012, at around 6:30 am California time,
Major Avtar Singh called police authorities in the city in
which he was residing and informed them that he had
killed members of his family and was going to kill
himself.
Subsequently, the dead bodies of Major Avtar Singh
and his family were found by the police authorities at
Major Avtar Singh's residence.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police position that the case
against the alleged perpetrators was not proceeding
because Major Avtar Singh could not be arrested is an
indictment of the Jammu and Kashmir Police who do
not appear to have sought to use any of their coercive
powers to arrest Major Avtar Singh.
Further, available documents from the Ministry of
Defence do not mention this case at all, thereby
suggesting that the case was never received on their
end with regard to Major Avtar Singh.
It needs to be ascertained whether the Jammu and
Kashmir Government has at all sent the case for
sanction for prosecution to the Ministry of Defence and
whether the Ministry of Defence has misplaced the
case le.
Further, the available documents do not suggest that
even a Court-Martial was conducted in this case by the
army.
With the recent death of Major Avtar Singh, it has been
ensured that no justice, by the rule of law, will ever be
meted out to him. The processes of justice have
therefore ensured impunity. Yet, prosecution can still
proceed against the other alleged perpetrator, where
sanction before prosecution is not required.
Case No. 16
Victim Details
Fayaz Ahmed Bhat [Torture]
Age: 36
Occupation: Farmer
Son of: Ghulam Mohammad Bhat
Resident of: Tantray Pora, Palhalan, Pattan, District
Baramulla
Alleged Perpetrators
1. Major Sinha [ Operational name Liyaqat Ali
Khan], Palhalan army Camp
2. Malik, army Ofcer, Palhalan army Camp
3. Sher Khan, Government Gunman [deceased]
4. Mohammed Shabaan Kawa, Government
Gunman
5. Saeb Hajam, Government Gunman
Case Information
The brother of the victim had been a militant with the
Hizbul Mujahideen. As a result the family of the victim
was frequently targeted. Fayaz Ahmed Bhat, Mustaq
Ahmad's brother, was picked up and taken to the
Palhallan army Camp, under the authority of Major
Sinha [operational name: Liyaqat Ali Khan] and Ofcer
Malik of the same Camp.
The victim was kept at the camp for 2-3 days at a
stretch, then released, only to be captured again. They
tortured him and the others in custody in various ways:
electric currents through toes, they stripped him and
his brother in front of each other, hung him upside
down for 20-25 minutes continuously and put ice and
freezing water over their body. Two to three people
simultaneously would beat the victim with sticks for
about 10 minutes. They would then stop for an hour
and resume the beating. They would heat up an iron
rod and place it over their bodies. Major Sinha forced
the victim to sit on a stove and burnt him, for others
they put petrol into their anus, and passed electric
currents through the genital area. They would release
him after 2-3 days but then they would pick him up
again and the cycle kept going on for 1-2 times a
month, sometimes even 1-2 times a week.
Government gunmen like Sher Khan, Mohammed
Shabaan Kawa and Saeb Hajam also tortured him.
They would regularly pick him up, threaten him and
ask him for money. After the army ofcers had beaten
him, they would beat him further with sticks in the same
army camps.
The brother of the victim, Mohammad Ismail Zargar,
gave the above statement to the IPTK on 9 January
2015.
The witness statement is clear, and cogent evidence is
presented of the torture by the alleged perpetrators.
The allegations warrant further investigation.
Case No. 17
Victim Details
Mushtaq Ahmad Wagay [Torture]
Age: 40
Occupation: Milkman
Son of: Ghulam Qadir Wagay
Resident of: Goriwan, Bijbehara, Islamabad district