Kulgam, cashmere with Indian administration – The recent recovery of the bodies of Showkat Ahmad Bhajad and Riyaz Ahmad Bhajad of the Kulgam watercourse in the cashmere administered by the Indians brought a wave of sorrow and suspicion that swept the community of the Gujjar du Cashmire. The authorities claim that the brothers have drowned, but their family members claim “marks of wounds on their bodies, telling a radically different story”.
Adding to community sorrow, a third man, Mukhtar Ahmad Awan, who disappeared at the same time as the Bhajad brothers, is still missing, relaxing the fears of a unfair game.
Calamity highlights the helplessness of the marginalized Gujjar community in cashmere, a traditionally nomadic pastoral group which has often fought with socioeconomic marginalization.
These incidents, aggravated by the disappearance of Mukhtar and the allegations of similar murders of young Gujjar in the Kathua district, again ignited the long -standing fears of the security of the community. Confidence between authorities and tribal groups has long been broken.
Earlier, in a tragic incident, 17 people in the village of Badhal – including 14 children from three related families – died of a “mysterious disease” between December 7 and mid -January. The cause of the death remains unknown and the government has not yet published an official declaration, which raises concerns and fueled speculations within the local Gujjar community.
Now, the death of two other young people from Gujjar has triggered both fear and anger.
Showkat and Riyaz, with their cousin Mukhtar, disappeared after attending a wedding in a local village on February 13. Their disappearance led to an in -depth research of one month. The research unfortunately ended with the recovery of the bodies of the two brothers of the Vishow canal in Kulgam in mid-March. Mukhtar is always missing.
The reinstatement of bodies has triggered demonstrations in the district of Kulgam and Jammu by tribal citizens and young leaders, and stimulated by unfair game accusations. A viral video showing a police officer kicking a tribal woman still ignited the distrust of the community and increased concerns. Police officials said they would set up a special committee to investigate allegedly.
“A video has surfaced on social networks concerning the conduct of a police officer with the demonstrators in Kulgam. We learned of yesterday’s incident and the allegations concerning the conduct of the police. Dig SKR will inform and submit its conclusions within 10 days,” wrote the police on X.
The incident aroused general political interest throughout the cashmere valley. The members of the Assembly and the Jammu-et-Cachemire political parties have also strengthened the requests for an independent investigation, stressing “the urgent need to preserve public confidence in the administration”.
Meema Begum, the mother of Showkat and Riyaz, shouted in tears for answers. “My sons were innocent, workers in a brick oven. They had no enemies,” she said.
By wiping tears, she continued by saying, “We want justice for anyone who used these brands to hurt my sons and assassinate them. They attended a wedding and never returned. ”
While the police authorities claim that deaths were “due to drowning, on the basis of forensic reports”, families constantly deny this conclusion.
“The injuries on their bodies were not those of drowning,” said Mohammad Jeelani, uncle to the dead, who witnessed recovery. “These are signs of trauma, a scary reminder of the helplessness that we are constantly enduring.”
The Kulgam affair reminded people the recent mysterious death of three people in Kathua. Recurring incidents have combined to create an increasing feeling of targeted violence and impunity among the Gujjar community.
And before that, the Makhan Din affair, where accusations of alleged murder led him to commit suicide.
Before his tragic death, Din was sitting in a calm corner of his house, his trembling hands when he reached the Koran of the wooden shelf behind him. With a deep inspiration, he placed the sacred book on his head, his unstable voice when he judged that he had never met activists. In a video he filmed and published on social networks, he said he had endured “torture” and “humiliation” in the hands of the police.
“Oh Allah, if my suffering can save others, let him be,” he said in a prayer before closing the phone. The viral became viral on social networks in February.
Amir Chowdhury, a tribal activist who protested in the Jammu district, said that the Gujjar community protests and denounces the coercive measures taken by the police to stifle their voice. “We were forced to go down the street,” he said.
“In Kulgam, our youth disappeared a month ago, and in a case of suicide, a person takes his own life. But here we saw two corpses in three days – how is it possible? ” questioned.
According to Amir, the water level in Kulgam watercourses is quite low, barely a few feet deep. It is deeply worrying to find bodies in shallow waters and to see such incidents, he said.
According to the Indian Express, the main director of the Kulgam police, Sahil Sarangal, said that the police had already created a special investigation team to examine the last deaths. “We await the report of the FSL (Laboratory of Judicial Sciences)”, “, He said.
Eye witnesses from the deceased family who were present during the handing over the bodies told the horrible state of the remains. “Devastation was not like a simple drowning. There were wounds, there were boiling marks,” said one of the eyewitnesses and a relative Ghulam Nabi.
He added that the family is united in their call for a full and impartial investigation. “We will not rest until we know the truth,” cried Nabi, echoing the feelings of other bereaved parents. “We demand justice and an exhaustive investigation. We have to know what has become our loved ones, and we are still looking for Mukhtar Ahmad, who remains disappeared. ”
Bashir Ahmad Bhajad, another uncle of the victims, also demanded justice. “We must know what happened to our sons. If it were a crime, officials must be held responsible,” he said.
Bashir Ahmad also doubted the official history of drowning, because he explained that the water had decreased considerably in the channel where the bodies were found, and it seemed unlikely that anyone could drown there.
“We have searched for a month and demanded justice. We demand an independent investigation and an investigation of the” real justice system “-if it really exists,” he said.