Srinagar, Jan 18: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association has accused police of implicating people on behest of Village Defence Committee members.
 The Bar has revealed this in a report which was released after the team visited Rajouri and Poonch district jails.
 The High Court on January 1, 2010 passed an order IA 2242/2009 authorizing four members of the High Court Bar Association comprising Bar president, Mian Abdul Qayoom, vice-president Aijaz Bedar, executive member Rafique Joo and Arshid Andrabi to visit central jail Kotbalwal, Jammu, district Jail Rajouri and Poonch from January 7 to January 9.   
 Following the order, the team members visited Kotbalwal jail on January 7 and sought permission to see the inmates. However, jail superintendent refused to grant them permission to meet the inmates, the Bar report alleged.
 The report said the superintendent jail even asked the deputy superintendent to return the application with remarks that it was not possible to allow the team members to meet the detainees.
 Bar said the Superintendent Jail desired that the Bar team should meet few prisoners, the request which Bar turned down. The Bar said that there were 439 detainees and under trials including 70 foreigners lodged in the jail.
 The team visited district jail Rajouri on January 8, 2010. Apart from several other inmates, it met the detainee Tarif Hussain Shah of Kot Baroot Tehsil Thana Mandi. Shah along with Tazeem Ahmad of Thana Mandi was arrested in December 2003 from Delhi and subsequently sentenced to seven years. Shockingly, when their sentence was about to expire on April 2007, they were booked in another case in Rajouri.
 The other co-accused in the case were Abdul Qayoom son of Abdul Samad and Muhammad Latief- both resident of Baroot- under section 302 RPC.
 Lateef was in the jail for six years. He has six children including four daughters. His parents and brothers have died and he has sold his property to pay to the lawyers.       
 In district jail Poonch, the Bar in its report has given detailed information about a detainee Muhammad Bashir. Bashir has served in BSF for 26 long years. But presently he is “languishing in district jail Poonch” along with two of his sons Muhammad Zaheer and Muhammad Jamil for past six years.
 “Bashir informed the Bar team he was along with son Zaheer was arrested under section 302 RPC,” the report said.
 His another son Jameel, the report said, was arrested some months ago and booked in different case. However, during past 14 months only one witness has been examined in the case. Bashir has two other sons. Muhammad Qadeer and Muhammad Akseer. Muhammad Qadeer was working as rifleman in JAKLI.
 Qadeer, according to report, had come to home on June 2007. The report said he along with his wife was arrested by Deputy S P Sunrankote Suran Singh on June 6, 2007 and kept in police station upto June 9, 2007. Bar said he was released on June 9 but his wife was kept in custody. The Bar said that the Dy SP Suran Singh allegedly raped his wife. The Bar said she was kept in JIC Meran Sahib for 13 days and then shifted back to Surankote police station.
 “After her release she filed an FIR against the accused police officer and but it was not entertained. She approached the SHRC, which directed the Crime Branch Jammu to register a case against the two accused and arrest them.
 However, the accused went to the High Court and got stay against the SHRC order.
 The report said that Dy SP had offered Rs 10 lakh to their family at village Potha.          
 “People are so sacred of police and the village defence committee members that don’t dare to speak against them. After meeting prisoners in the Poonch jail, we could feel they were terrified of them,” says the report released.
 Citing example of Muhammad Yousuf of Mastandhara Surankote who is lodged in district jail Poonch, the Bar said he was arrested on April 22, 2009 from Chambani where he had taken his flock for grazing. Report said he arrested along with seven other persons and them taken to Jammu.
 “In Jammu they were beaten up for three days and then shifted to JIC Jammu,” the report said, adding that from JIC Jammu they were taken Police Station Surankote.
 The Bar report said in Poonch jail, the inmate was asked by SP and SSP to pay Rs one lakh for release. However, when he failed to pay he was framed in IED blast case which had taken place in Poonch on April 22, 2009. In the IED blast a VDC commander was killed. There were about 100 to 150 VDC members in Mudha area. Bar said the VDC members have made life hell in these areas. Bar said people were being arrested by police on the behest of VDC members.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 IST