New Delhi: The body of Altaf Ahmad Shah, the son-in-law of late Syed Ali Geelani, who was imprisoned in Tihar jail in an alleged terror funding case, and died of cancer in Delhi's AIIMS hospital on Tuesday, was handed over to his family after postmortem, Director General (Prisons), Tihar, Sandeep Goel told ETV Bharat on Tuesday.
"We handed over the body to the family from AIIMS after the post-mortem was carried out," Goel said. Later in the evening, the body was flown to Srinagar and, according to inputs from the ground, only close relatives of the separatist leader would be allowed to participate in the last rites.
Earlier in the day, Shah's daughter Ruwa had tweeted that the family was waiting at AIIMS mortuary for the body. "Nobody from police or Magistrate( Sana Khan - who was asked to be here for the body to be released) is here yet. The delay will worsen the situation. Have to be at airport 3 hrs prior to last flight at 18.30," Ruwa tweeted, even as she tagged the Prime Minister and Home Minister's offices.
Ruwa had announced the death of her father early Tuesday morning. "Abu breathed his last at AIIMS in New Delhi," she wrote on the social media platform. It may be recalled that Shah was undergoing treatment at AIIMS on the order of the Delhi High Court. The court had ordered him to be shifted to AIIMS in Delhi for proper treatment after being diagnosed with cancer.
Recently, Ruwa had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting immediate medical assistance for her ailing father. Shah, a resident of the Soura locality of Srinagar, was arrested on July 25, 2017, with six others, facing trial in an alleged terror funding case probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). On October 5, the Delhi High Court ordered his shifting to the AIIMS Delhi for proper treatment after he was stated to have been diagnosed with cancer.
Also read: Release Altaf Shah on humanitarian grounds: Mehbooba
Shah told the court he was receiving treatment for certain serious ailments at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML), but it was recently revealed he was suffering from the last stage renal cancer. While claiming the RML did not have adequate facility to treat renal cancer, he had urged the authorities concerned to be allowed to be shifted to the AIIMS or Apollo Hospital for urgent treatment. Shah is survived by wife, son and two daughters.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad over Shah's death. “The government of India not only failed to provide satisfactory medical care to Shah who was suffering from renal cancer but also created inordinate delays in his hospitalisation and essential diagnostic tests,” a Pakistani MEA spokesman said.
Pakistan alleged that Altaf Shah was “victimised and punished because he was the son-in-law of revered Hurriyat leader Geelani and a true representative of the Kashmiri people”.
“His death is the consequence of the Indian government’s wilful and deliberate negligence, utter disregard for human rights and its systematic campaign to suppress and brutalise the Hurriyat leaders,” the Pakistani MEA said.
