 |
| Kashmiri woman
looks on as soldier cleans blood at scene of shootout in
Srinagar: life far from normal
|
By
Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, August 26 (IslamOnline) - Information is slowly trickling in
about a crime committed by soldiers in a far-off Kashmir village since
Tuesday, August 20. The army has torched at least 130 houses, making
around 700 villagers homeless. It has since laid siege on a number of
villages in Marmat area in the district of Doda. Village women were
also allegedly stripped naked and subjected to atrocities by security
forces.
The
army action started as a revenge operation against the murder of
Colonel HK Sherawat of Rashtriya Rifles on the same day by militants
using an improvised explosive device (IED). A soldier was also killed
in the explosion. This was the second such incident within a week in
which a senior army officer was killed in a militant attack. A
lieutenant colonel and a soldier were killed in a militant ambush in
Rajouri district on Saturday, August 17.
|
| Soldier
keeping watch from his vehicle: no dignity for people |
Soon
after the incident, security forces cordoned off the entire area and
launched massive combing operations to flush out militants. Some
villagers were able to flee, others are still under siege according to
latest information.
The
national media here has ignored the incident but the Kashmiri media
has published vital information. According to Jammu daily Kashmir
Times (August 23), at least 130 houses have been set on fire in four
villages of Marmat during the previous two days. While security forces
allege that houses have been set on fire by militants, residents said
houses were burnt down by security forces as a ‘vindictive step’
after their senior officer was killed in an IED explosion Tuesday.
Kashmir
Times reported that residents of Marmat took out a protest
demonstration and observed a strike in Doda on August 22 and raised
slogans against the army and district administration.
Meanwhile,
Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah along with some senior officers visited
the area on August 22 and ordered an inquiry into the incident.
|
| Gun
protects Indian flag in Kashmir |
Reports
said that property worth millions of rupees was destroyed when at
least 130 residential houses were burnt in the villages of Mangota,
Behota, Kenthi, Kund and Dehota. Villagers who managed to reach Doda
alleged that immediately after an army colonel was killed under
mysterious circumstances near Mangota village, security men went
berserk attacking villagers residing in nearby areas. They alleged
that later security men extended the same method to other villages in
the vicinity.
Villagers
alleged that when they noticed the intentions of security men they
abandoned their houses and fled in different directions. Villagers
told reporters in Doda that scores of residents including women and
children are missing from their houses. They also alleged that the
entire area has been cordoned off and no movement is allowed.
According
to Kashmir Times, no reporter or NGO is allowed to proceed to Marmat
and despite assurances of ending army siege, thousands of villagers
are not able to move out of their villages. Some villagers, who
somehow managed to reach Doda, sought the intervention of district
administration. Following their protest Doda district senior officers
visited the area.
Official
sources said that senior officers have taken
|
| Security
forces truck with shattered windscreen in Srinagar |
stock
of the situation and a package is being prepared for the residents who
lost their property. When contacted, a senior officer of district
administration said that it will be investigated whether the houses
were burnt by militants or security forces. Some villagers told
Kashmir Times reporter that the houses were set on fire by security
men.
No
loss of life has been reported so far. The number of the gutted houses
is said to be 150 affecting 700 people. The official figure for the
destroyed houses is 96.
Srinagar
daily Greater Kashmir reported on August 24 that the division bench of
the Jammu & Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has taken
a serious view of the incident.
Taking
suo moto cognizance of the report circulated by a local news agency,
the bench comprising the SHRC chairperson, Justice AQ Parray, and
member Qazi Muzaffar-ud-din, observed that the contents of the news
item “make out prima facie a human rights violation case of grave
nature.”
Listing
the case for next hearing on September 30, the SHRC bench issued
notices to the divisional commissioner and the inspector general of
police, Jammu, and the deputy commissioner and senior superintendent
of police, Doda, for “their immediate factual report in the
matter.”
Jammu
and Kashmir Awami Action Committee (AAC), headed by Mirwaiz Maulvi
Umar Farooq, has strongly condemned the torching of 150 residential
houses and molestation of dozens of women in the two villages of Doda
allegedly by the security forces.
Describing
the revenge action as shameful and barbaric, the AAC said in a
statement a reign of terror marked by killings, loot and arson and
indiscriminate arrests, had been let loose in whole of Jammu and
Kashmir as the so-called elections approached. He expressed grave
concern over increase in human rights violations to break the
people’s resolve.
The
All Party Hurriet Conference on August 24 lambasted chief minister Dr
Farooq Abdullah and National Conference government for maintaining
meaningful silence over the stripping of women and torching of around
200 houses at Marmat in Doda district.
Strongly
condemning the incident, a spokesman of the separatist conglomerate
described it as most gruesome and inhuman. He said the worshipers of
Lord Rama and Sita, have put Satan to shame by stripping women naked
in the remote village.
Lambasting
the state government and chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, the
spokesman said the person who claims to bring normalcy and defends the
action of security forces should see how they act with the people.
The
spokesman wondered how chief minister and his associates would go to
these people and ‘beg’ for votes? They are the people who talk of
peace and tranquillity. “If they have a little conscience left, they
should take note of the plight of the people in Marmat”, he said.
Hurriyat
spokesman said the people of the area have fled from their homes as
army, Special Operations Group and (the Hindu-dominated) Village
Defense Committees have unleashed a reign of terror in the area. He
said a delegation of people visited the Hurriyat headquarters in
Srinagar on August 24 and narrated the gruesome tale. The spokesman
said the people have left their homes and are camping in nearby
jungles to save themselves from the wrath of security forces.
The
23-party separatist alliance spokesman said the incident is a slap in
the faces of the people who try to fool the masses on the slogans of
free and fair polls. He said the incident should be an eye opener to
the apostles of democracy.
Hurriyat
spokesman said the authorities are trying to mislead the international
community over democratic process. “On one side the security forces
are making the life of people hell and on the other, the champions of
democracy are fooling the international community by raising the
slogans of electoral process”, he added.
Senior
separatist leader Shabbir Ahmad Shah’s Democratic Freedom Party (DFP)
has decided to lodge a strong protest against the Marmat atrocities
with Jethmalani’s Kashmir Committee during the forthcoming talks in
New Delhi.
In
a statement on August 24 Shah expressed surprise over New Delhi
inviting separatists for talks on one side and crushing people with
suppressive policies on the other side. He said pro-freedom people
cannot be crushed by suppression. 
