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| Commission "blames" police for death of Lassa Khanday, questions SIT investigation | | Justice Gandhi Report on Padder violence | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Jammu, April 16: Like August 9, 2013 violence of Kishtwar, Justice Retired R C Gandhi also probe the Padder violence which took place on 9th and 10th of August 2013 resulted into the killing of Lassa Khandey by the rioters, besides another person who works as a porter on Machial Mata Yatra track is still untraceable since last 20 months. The violence not only claim the life of Lassa Khandey, but also resulted into bullet injury to his four relatives including his son and their property worth lakhs of rupees was also burnt by the rioters allegedly in retaliation to the Kishtwar violence and as per evidence gathered by the commission, one person who deals with the tickets at Kishtwar of Manpreet Buses and has also his vehicle, came along with some persons to Gulabgarh and spread a false news that a boy of Tatta Pani studying in a school at Kishtwar has been burnt alive by pouring petrol on him and three ladies of the yatris have been kidnapped by the Muslims, besides it there is large scale arson, looting and burning of about 150 shops in Kuleed Chowk and Bazar by the Muslims, therefore, the Bazar should be shut down.
The commission stated that on hearing this news, the people became emotional and shut the Bazar. They along with yatris formed a procession and started raising slogans against the administration and burnt the hardware shop of Javed Ahmed Mintoo after partially looting it on the same day at about 2.30 P.M, beside a vehicle was also put on fire by the miscreants.
The commission stated that a procession consisting of about 200 people, led by one Bal Krishan shopkeeper of Gulabgarh, in order to register the protest started from Gulabgarh and went towards Atholi and accordingly the Tehsildar informed the SHO that he should come and control the procession. The SHO reached Atholi, persuaded the processionists and they came back. Again on next day, i.e. on 10th August, 2013 a procession consisting of about 400-500 people started from Gulabgarh at about10.00 AM & went towards village Atholi. They damaged 2-3 vehicles of a particular community having population of around 700 to 800 in the total population of nearly 30000 and went further to village Kajai. The processionists in village Kajai stoned the houses of the same community and as retaliation the community members fired Gun shots at the procession at village Kajai including from the house of Khurshid Ahmed Bhat and Farooq Ahmed who are the members of the VDC of village Kajai.
"The processionists moved further to village Karthai and in the meantime an announcement was made on the mike from the Mosque at village Kajai that the community members have been attacked and they should come out from their houses with their weapons--- Upon this they came on the road as the village is situated just across the road" read Commission report.
The commission further stated that the procession which had gone up to village Karthai was coming back and the Muslim people by that time in good number had blocked the road at village Kajai and were adamant that they will not permit the procession to go back from this road. However, the Tehsildar and the SHO managed and persuaded the processionists to go back via village Tattapani, another route for Gulabgarh. By that time it was afternoon. The people of village Kajai went towards village Hanswar to attack them and there was firing between both the villagers. Village Hanswar is at some height and village Kajai is in low position. In this firing one Hindu boy and three persons of Muslim community were injured. These injured were shifted to Atholi hospital. The miscreants belonging to Muslim community of village Kajai also burnt the shop of Roshan Lal and damaged the vehicles also. The Tehsildar informed the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu about the condition of the injured and they decided to shift the injured to Gulabgarh from where they were to be lifted for better treatment to another location by a Chopper which was to be dispatched from Udhampur, but due to inclement weather the Chopper fail to land at Gulabgarh. In the evening there was huge gathering of people/yatris around the Helipad protesting for their shifting to their homes. In the meantime, three injured and four attendants from Muslim Community were shifted by Ambulance from Atholi hospital to Gulabgarh. The vehicle was parked in the Helipad surrounded by fencing and people started pelting stones on it to cause damage to the attendants of the injured and the Ambulance. At this the Police fired tear gas shells in which girl was hit by the shell or the bullet of the Police in her leg and was wounded and by the time it started raining also.
While stone pelting was going on, the people broke the fencing where the Ambulance was parked and resorting to heavy stone pelting on the Ambulance which got damaged.
The commission stated that the Ambulance along with the injured and the attendants was shifted to Police Station which is a few yards away from the Helipad and as per the Police version that in the Police Station it was told by some attendant that during shifting, one of the attendance Lassa Khandey whose son was among the injured has been whisked away from the Ambulance at the Helipad by the protesting people in such a melee. The Police formed groups to trace him but could not trace him during night and early in the morning his dead body was found outside the fencing of the Helipad quite opposite where the Ambulance was parked. The dead body was removed by the Police and after completion of legal formalities handed over it to the relatives at their village in the evening and buried.
According to commission, this version of the Police that Lassa Khandey was whisked away is neither believable nor appealable to reasonable senses.
"It was not such a situation that from the Ambulance somebody could be whisked away when the Police was shifting the vehicle. Why it could not come in the notice of the Police that out of the seven, there are six persons & why it was not told by the attendants then & there at the Helipad that 7th man has been whisked away by the mob" read commission report, added that the Police story on many counts is not believable as the Helipad is controlled and guarded by Military, SSB, CRPF and the local police personnel. Moreover the size of the Helipad is hardly 100x200 yards, therefore, there is also no possibility at all of throwing the body there during the night. It is also not believable that the Police searched him and they could not trace him as the total area of Gulabgarh is not even 1 Km; rather it is less than that.
"It appears to be, which may not be correct, but a matter of investigation by independent agency that the gentleman succumbed to injuries inflicted on some vital part of his body on account of heavy stone pelting while he was in the Police custody in the Police Station and his body might have been thrown there by the Police" read Commission report. The investigation in this case, according to the Commission, does not appeal to senses to be correct. The theory propounded by the Police appears to be in such circumstances unbelievable & concocted with regard to the circumstances leading to the death of Lassa Khandey.
Again, the episode of firing between the members of the VDC of village Kajai and village Hanswar appears to be not as projected by the Police in its investigation. In village Kajai the residents have the licensed fire arms. In village Hanswar none of the resident have a licensed fire arm. The fire arms are only with the VDC members in village Hanswar. In the evidence all the accused who are the members of the VDC of village Hanswar have been examined and the cartridges issued to them along with the fire arms by the Police are in exact numbers with them and it was not clear by which gun the fire was shot by accused of village Hanswar is not coming out from the investigation.
"The people have not got justice from the Police or from the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Government who has not done fair investigation in the cases, commensurate to the facts and the circumstances" maintained commission in his report. The commission in his report did not touch the incident of missing of a Gujjar youth. |
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