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| 14 yrs on, 2002 Basohli police firing victim craves for justice | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 23: On October 11, 2002, when the elder brother was celebrating his victory in the state assembly elections from Basohli constituency, his younger brother was busy in thrashing and beating those who either voted against or canvassed against his brother during the polls, states the enquiry report.
According to the contents of the Magistrate U C Dingra enquiry report, one Mushtaq Ahmed S/O Maqsood Ahmed of Basohli ward no. 7, was fired at and was mercilessly beaten and thrashed allegedly by the MLA's brother with the help of the cops escorting him without any constitutional authority.
Mushtaq Ahmed rushed to Basohli police station, profusely bleeding, in order to lodge report against the culprit but owing to the political clout the police declined to register FIR against the brother of the MLA.
The news of the incident spread like wild fire in the town where every person, having sympathy with the victim, requested the Munshi to register a case, but owing to the adamancy of the police the dialogue took the shape of heated exchange. Police, in order to please the newly elected MLA, started unprovoked firing on the innocent natives present in the police station without seeking any verbal or written orders either from any police officer present or from the local administration (report). The police chased the people from the police station up to Ram Leela Ground Basohli where Ram Leela was being played. According to the eye witnesses a man in Dogra dress was seen moving with the cops engaged in firing at the men women and the children. Disappointed over their failure to hit any person, the cops were asked to open rapid fire at the house of Shiv Kumar Padha, where one big hoarding of BJP candidate was displayed, where one of the bullets, pierced the wooden window frame, hit land lady of the house Asha Koshal wife of Shiv Kumar Padha on the right check while she was standing in her bedroom. As a result of the gun shot the whole cheek below the right eye was blown. The victim lay in the pool of blood thereafter she was taken to the SDH Basohli for preliminary treatment. The doctors took the case lightly and referred the case to GMC Jammu without plugging the bleeders, the report states.
Scared of the demonic, ferocious attitude and political clout of the brother of the trouble initiator, neither the SDH Basohli provided hospital ambulance to the victim nor any taxi operator except one dared to offer his taxi to shift the victim to GMC Jammu. The victim remained admitted in GMC for six days where, due to the negligence of the doctors, the condition of the victim deteriorated from bad to worse.
The patient was withdrawn from GMC Jammu and was admitted in Medicare centre Gandhi Nagar Jammu where she was operated for plastic surgery by Dr. SR Anand. Two more plastic surgeries were performed at PGI Chandigarh by Dr. RK Sharma. The cost of all the operations amounted to Rs. 15 lacs which was paid from the pocket of the poor husband of the victim. In order to give shape to the face of the victim two more operations were advised which cost Rs 10 lacs or more, the report added.
In the meanwhile the local people came on the roads in favor of the victim who was fired at for no fault of her following which DC Kathua ordered for Magisterial inquiry vide his order no. PA/DM/165-69 dated 12-10-2002 to inquire into the incident of police firing in town Basohli, in which one lady Asha Koshal received bullet injury. The inquiring Magistrate UC Dingra, after examining the statements of the witnesses, report of the SDPO, BMO Basohli and GMC Jammu, reached the conclusion that the situation aggravated due to the absence - of senior police officers and the civil administration.
No orders were sought for taking such drastic step of firing where 80 bullets were fired as admitted by the SDPO Basohli. In the last the enquiring magistrate suggested to register a case against the erring cops who started firing at their own.
The husband of the victim went from pillar to post for moral and the financial support but neither the government nor any NGO came forward for help. The heart bleeds to mention here about the inhuman behavior of the Crime Branch who grilled the victim in their office at Jammu. Where she was kept hungry deliberately. The Munsif Magistrate Basohli threatened the victim to agree to the closure report of the police investigation, which she never signed. It is universal truth that a woman loves her husband, children and her complexion which she protects at the cost of her life. Just think about the agony of the lady who always wears dark colored glasses even during the night hours in order to hide the injury of the eye.
As a result of the injury she has developed inferiority complex.
There are many questions which are not answered by any so called democratic, secular and elected government of Jammu and Kashmir even 15 years after injury to the victim Asha Koshal like;
What was the name of person who instigated the cops to start firing on the innocent people without seeking orders either from the police officer or the local administration? Why did the cops fire at the house of the victim when there was nobody around?
Why did the Basohli police refuse to register FIR against the police?
Under whose pressure and terror the CHC Basohli and local taxi operators refused to provide the hospital ambulance or taxi for shifting the victim to GMC Jammu.
Why the victim of the firing was harassed and tortured by the police crime branch Jammu keeping her hungry throughout the day while the persons who triggered and picked up the quarrel, which resulted in un provoked police firing, was not brought under the ambit of the police investigations.
Who was the person in the state government shielding trouble initiator overtly and covertly from the police investigation when his name and that of some cops figures at page numbers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the Magisterial report constituted by DC Kathua. India is a country known for generosity, justice, humanism, where courts burn their mid night oil in order to provide justice even to the enemies of the state hell bent destabilizing the peace and tranquility of the nation.
Ours is a land where the dreaded wounded terrorists are air lifted to provide them treatment in one of the best hospitals of the country.
In the case of Victim Asha Koshal the blood was wiped under the feet of those who thronged to see the sight of shooting. Due to the political clout and terror of the brother of the trouble initiator neither hospital ambulance nor any private taxi operator was allowed to shift the victim to GMC Jammu.
Not to talk of providing financial assistance or the amenities, no person from administration or any political party ever condemned the incident and demanded for justice for the victim.
It is a reality that for a married woman facial beauty is all that matters for the family and society. But due to the injury the victim has lost her natural facial look and is haunted and tormented by it.
The victim is a citizen of India and permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir and as such entitled for the enjoyment of all fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution of India and made applicable to the state of JK and other legal as well as statutory rights which are ion force in the state.
According to the victim there should be a free and impartial CBI enquiry of the incident where both the trouble initiator and his cabinet minister brother who shielded the culprit be brought under the ambit of police investigations and also a sufficient amount be paid to the victim in order to make good her losses. |
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