elves a part of the world’s largest democracy, some even have torture marks on their bodies. And going by their statements, it is unfortunate that have been meted out treatments that are usually received by the hardened criminals while in the police custody. Take the statement of a sixth class student, Burhaan Nazir of Nalahbundpora Nowshera, for example. He was arrested last week from the streets of Srinagar’s Old City and his statement comes across as a shocker as to how these minors are treated by the police. ‘We were severely beaten in the police station and all we heard from policemen were just abuses,’ Burhaan has remarked while policemen as per the report dragged him back from the court and bundled him into a waiting armored vehicle. ‘They abuse my sisters, tore our clothes. I am afraid they will beat us again in the police station. They even abuse my mother, who is dead,’ he cried as he was bundled into the police vehicle even as his words shocked everyone who was present in the court premises. Other minors have a similar tale to tell of police torture and it belies all the claims of the government that often boasts of exercising restraint while dealing with the ‘agitated’ youth. And even if these minors have been found guilty of stone pelting, this is no way to treat someone who has not attained maturity. In fact, bringing them handcuffed to the court leaves nothing to imagination. These pictures speak for themselves as to how this government treats minors in police custody. True, the government had said it would not withdraw cases against those involved in arson. But then the authorities cannot treat minors in a manner in which adults are treated. And to conceal their shortcomings, the police before the court pretended that they did not the ages of these children who from no angle look like 18 years old. Even the lawyers have objected to the way these minors have been treated as one observed in the report:
‘This is a brute use of force by state and this is beyond any comprehension of any jurisprudence or human rights and I think police stations have turned into tyranny centres.’ The government owing to the pressure from both within and outside the state may have set up a juvenile home in Kashmir recently but these pictures tell a different story. These pictures are truly ‘beyond any comprehension of any jurisprudence or human rights’. And as far as the chief minister’s ‘Eidi’ goes, now Eid-ul-Adha is approaching but it seems the ‘bold’ announcement of last Eid is yet to be implemented the way it should have been. On the contrary there have been more arrests. Therefore, it is time that the government gives up its habit of only announcing these so-called huge CBMs that are never implemented on ground. The government may announce yet another CBM before the upcoming Eid but now it can no longer fool the public with its hollow promises that never see the light of the day. Ironically, now the government ahead of Eid-ul-Adha has turned itself into a sacrificial animal of sorts. It has been trying to give an impression that it wants to do a lot, be it the revocation of controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) or amnesty to the stone-pelters, but it is not allowed to do so by its ‘enemies’. While some leaders of the government continue to blame the opposition and the separatists for its shortcomings, others have chosen to point their guns towards the army and even the centre. Therefore, it is imperative that the government introspects and realize that since it is power, it has to take responsibility for all the issues facing Kashmir and at the same time look for their resolution.|Kashmir Monitor|
