news details |
|
|
| Shopian: Symptom of a systemic failure! | | Govt’s own contribution to the mess up may be precursor to a bigger disaster | | Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Jun 19: Mishandling of an incident of alleged rape and murder of two young women in Shopian on May 29th has indisputably surfaced as an alarming symptom of systemic failure in the National Conference-led coalition government in Jammu & Kashmir. In continued absence of the lack of direction, administration---howsoever competent---is bound to fail. Those who are in the morning asked to arrest a separatist leader but in the evening directed to affect his release, for a cycle of infinity, can perhaps understand it better. It is an irony that a Governor with no local support has succeeded in dousing the flaming of a regional and communal inferno but a representative government, comprising two largest mainstream political parties, has failed to consolidate the gains it had inherited from a career bureaucrat!
Even after three weeks of the burial, nobody has an answer as to why vital circumstantial and biological evidences are being allowed to lose in decomposition of the two dead bodies. Forensic science experts, including those who have studied so-called post mortem reports prepared by an extremely incompetent lot of doctors, are unanimous over the necessity of DNA testing. Government will definitely realize the hazard of sleeping over time-bound decisions, should the investigators fail in identifying and arresting the culprits.
Normally, in all criminal investigations there are two options: A many cases are solved and pushed to trial but, in many matters, investigators fail to reach the culprits and close the file as ‘not admitted’. Thanks to chaos and confusion at all ranks of establishment, both, the judicial inquiry as well as the SIT investigation are now left with one-odd option---“to produce and punish the rapists and killers”.
A sequence of events from the day one denotes political and administrative bankruptcy. Why did a government, that had trumpeted “change” in its first 100 days, commit the mistake of retaining a retiring official as Deputy Commissioner of Shopian in its first administrative reshuffle? Did it need a beep to remind itself that Mohammad Ramzan Thakur’s appointment was the result of a sustained campaign publicly launched by then PDP’s MLA Ghulam Hassan Khan? Was nobody in the government aware of the fact that then Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Anantnag, Mr Thakur had several years back directed his PSOs and Police escort to hand over their arms to militants when they had appeared to question his tour in Kokernag area?
Leaders of the ruling party now insist that the Cabinet had, in fact, obliged Chief Secretary S S Kapur who wished Mr Thakur “to retire as DC”.
Immediately after Prof Saifuddin Soz issued a statement and announced that he would take up the Shopian incident with the Union Defence and Home Ministers, people at large in the Valley began to smell that there was something fishy in the whole episode. This, in fact, served as an FIR against Army and CRPF. Why should the Leader of the Opposition, Mehbooba Mufti, remain a mute spectator on watching her role being played by a leader of the ruling party?
Failing to understand the Opposition’s capability of stretching interpretations, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah landed in the trouble of his own creation. In his admission of “having learned something” after 20 days, Omar has not---intelligently---insisted on checking out the recorded version of his observation made at his press conference. He appears to have learned that he can still argue and win in a court of professionals but none of his logic or reason would work in a wider court of the people that is guided more by perceptions than facts, realities and possibilities. Thanks to politics (read politicking) and media, the Shopian tragedy has stirred so wildly that the possibility of a dead end in the investigation would be essentially interpreted as “Government’s cover up” not only by the common people but also by Chief Minister’s and Justice Muzaffar Jan’s own family members.
SP Javed Matoo was removed from Shopian apparently under public pressure. While the order of DC’s attachment made a specific mention of the “inefficiency” practiced by the district administration in dealing with the post mortem process and its aftermath, it remained silent in SP’s case. It has led many in the town to believe that unlike DC, SP has not been removed for mere “inefficiency”. In the last few days, residents, politicians and mediapersons have demonstrated the tendency of shifting the focus from the Army and CRPF to “J&K Police” and “SOG”. And the accusation is not of “inefficiency” but committing “rape and murder” of the two ill-fated women. While DC is now retiring with the immaterial tag of complacency, SP is almost in the dock with the allegation of complicity.
Nobody in the Government has responded to the PDP President and clarified whether Matoo had been removed for being a “suspect” or simply to cool down tempers of the agitating crowds in South Kashmir.
Running the risk of the mob attack, Mehbooba Mufti has audaciously visited the bereaved family in a town that had uncharitably sent her back just a few years ago. Wife of a civilian, killed in crossfiring, had pushed then ruling PDP leader back with the slur that she had been shedding tears after applying chilly powder to her eyes. In the same township, Mehbooba was yet again heckled and attacked by irate mobs with their sandals and invectives but she returned only after winning the distinction of being the one-odd mainstream politician to jump into the fire.
On the other hand, NC’s District President, Shabir Kullai, who lives in the ill-fated Ahangars’ neighbourhood has never turned up even with a word of sympathy. He is reportedly in Srinagar---still demanding credit for NC’s lead over the PDP candidate in Shopian segment in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
With the sheer absence of a political response from the two ruling parties---who appear to be in a competition in shutting their eyes towards Shopian---lawyers, human rights activists and mediapersons have conducted the trial ex parte and almost pronounced their conviction. Official agencies have shown no hesitation in making it public that Divisional Commissioner Masood Samoon could not enter the troubled town due to “tension” in Shopian. People, including media, are not aware of any single meeting having happened between Ministers, legislators, officials and security agencies to discuss what exactly was going wrong with Shopian and how best the situation could be tacked until completion of the judicial inquiry and SIT investigation. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
