By Amir Tantray
Jammu:The outrage following the death of Kathua youth, Makhan Din, is refusing to die down as people from different walks of life are demanding an impartial judicial inquiry into the cause leading to the tribal man’s death by suicide in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bani, Dr Rameshwar Singh, was the first to come in support of the family and demanded a judicial inquiry to ascertain the reasons behind Din's death.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Dr Singh said that they were not demanding any inquiry that is not within the constitution of India. “I will wait for four to five days till the magisterial inquiry ordered by the administration is completed. I would love to be proven wrong with the fact that the magisterial inquiry fixes the responsibility for torture on Makhan Din, which forced him to take away his life,” he said.
The MLA Bani said that Din belonged to a poor family who had two little daughters at home, a wife, and parents who were in deep shock.
Din (25), a resident of the Perody area of Billawar, allegedly died by suicide inside a mosque in his area. He also recorded a video message before taking the extreme step and claiming his innocence of being an Overground worker (OGW).
“Since I have come to my senses, I have never seen a militant in my life. Police have been asking me to give information about receiving calls from outside the country, and during the interrogation, I lied to them that I had all the details available on my mobile phone. I will not go back to the police as I will not be able to face the torture again and can't see my loved ones face the torture of the police. I ask Allah to forgive me and peacefully take my soul,” Din was heard saying in the recorded video.
The video has led to outrage among people, and MLA Bani also mentioned it. “As per the Supreme Court, this video testified that policemen who tortured Makhan Din are responsible for his death. Had he mentioned the name of any individual or family other than the police, they would have been arrested by the police within minutes. But as his charges are against police, nothing has happened.”
“Rather, those policemen who were posted in Billawar Police Station have been shifted to areas like Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, and other areas," Dr Singh said. He was among those who had reached the police station yesterday to receive the dead body of Makhan Din and expressed his solidarity with the family and locals of the area.
Chairman of Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also condemned Din's death and the killing of a truck driver In Sopore. Taking to X, Mirwaiz said, “The unfortunate saga of extra judicial killings and rights violations of people of J&K continues as the perpetrators are never brought to book." He said that the cycle would continue until accountability is established and justice delivered.
"It is the responsibility of the authorities including the elected representatives to ensure that these crimes do not take place and if they sadly do they are investigated and those behind it punished," Mirwaiz Umar said. He also regretted the arrests of hundreds of people across the valley in recent days and has appealed to the authorities to release them.
Moreover, members of the legal community of the High Court Jammu branch have demanded a judicial inquiry and have levelled strong charges against the deputy commissioner and senior superintendent of police of Kathua.
“We will not accept the magistrate's and police's inquiry into the death of Makhan Din. This is merely an eyewash, and no one could be the judge of his case. We demand a judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court judge, and there is a clear direction from the Supreme Court in this regard to hold an impartial inquiry,” Sheikh Shakeel, a senior Jammu-based lawyer, told media persons.
He alleged that Din was given third-degree torture by the police, which forced him to take the extreme step. “He was given shocks in the testicle, and his statement in the video was clear that he couldn't go through the torture again,” Shakeel said.
The senior advocate levelled serious charges against DC and SSP Kathua for working on an agenda to push the tribal community out of the Kathua district. “We know all your bad deeds, how you people are helping illegal mining to flourish in the area, and how you are pushing members of a particular community out of the district,” he added.
Shakeel was accompanied by over a dozen lawyers from the Jammu bench of the High Court and said that many Muslim members from adjoining areas weren't allowed to participate in the funeral prayers of Makhan Din. “Police disembarked people after asking their names, and many with Muslim names were stopped from reaching the village of Makhan Din for the funeral,” Shakeel alleged.
Another lawyer, Muhammad Anwar Choudhary, said that if they go by the police version that he was an established OGW of the militants, why was he allowed to go home to bring a mobile phone? “This was an act against the security of the state, if Makhan Din was associated with militants, he could have destroyed the evidence. These policemen should be booked under UAPA and should be dismissed from the service,” Chowdhary added.
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