Kulgam, Mar 27: Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Budhal Constituency, Javaid Iqbal Choudhary has called for a high-level probe through a judicial authority or a central investigation agency into disappearance and death of the Gujjar youth in Kulgam and mysterious deaths of 17 persons in Badhaal.
On day one of the recess in the ongoing budget session of the Legislative Assembly, Javed visited the bereaved families in Kulgam to gather first-hand assessment of the circumstances from the family members.
Two of the three missing youths who were eventually found dead actually belonged to Khawas area of Budhal Constituency. Javaid said they had migrated from Panglar Panchayat in Khawas block of Budhal (Rajouri) to Kulgam in recent years where their family had purchased a small piece of land while the youth -Showkat and Riyaz son of Sadiq -made a living through labour work.
“The mysterious death of 17 persons in Badhaal and subsequently disappearance and death of two youth in Kulgam are far from being natural deaths and investigations into causes are too far away from appearing convincing,” Choudhary said.
After meeting the families and relatives of Showkat and Riyaz, the MLA said, “There are too many visible signs of a deliberate cover-up on the circumstances leading to their deaths.”
Javaid said a string of incidents over past years have shaken up the confidence of the Gujjar community. “The Gujjar community is enduring so much pain inflicted by invisible hands and at the same time the shocking indifference of law enforcing authorities and Jammu, Srinagar and New Delhi is dismaying and worrying,” he said.
MLA Choudhary added, “It is a tragedy that the elected government accountable to the public does not have a mandate over these matters.”
He appealed to Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to refer these incidents for a judicial probe or inquiry through NIA or CBI.
Javed said the Gujjar community is today passing through a crisis of many shades and these mysterious deaths coupled with the indifference of the authorities could prove as material for the alienation of the nationalist tribe,” he said.
If the government doesn’t have any interest in the Gujjar community, it should at least get an impartial inquiry done in the national interest, Choudhary added.
