ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

Srinagar, Mar 1: For past 10-years, 60-year old Sara Begum of Nowhatta has spent most of her time gazing at the door of her modest house to receive her son, Muhammad Yaseen Bhat. But every time she has to face disappointment.
 Life took an ugly turn for Sara Begum, when some unidentified security agency detained her son on this day in 2000. After failing to get justice, the family has pinned hope on the Government to help them locate whereabouts of their beloved son.
 Recounting the fateful day, she said Yaseen had left with his father, Ghulam Muhammad, to offer Isha prayers.
 “After half an hour my husband hurriedly returned saying some men in civvies had taken Yaseen along with them. Before I could react, the troopers and men in civvies carrying weapons barged into our house. They locked us in a single room and for the next two hours we just heard Yaseen’s screams,” she said as tears trickled from her eyes. 
 When the troopers left, the neighbours told the family that they had seen Yaseen being dragged in an unconscious state. Next day, the inhabitants of Nowhatta staged demonstrations demanding Yaseen’s release.  
 “The then DSP Khanyar, Tanveer Jilani had assured to locate my son within two hours. We even showed him a piece of paper with emblem of the Regiment whose troops had raided our house. He took the paper with him and never returned it,” she said.
 The family went to Nowhatta Police Station for registration of FIR. “Earlier they refused but after intervention of the human rights organizations police finally filed a missing report,” she said. 
 “Many people say Yaseen might have been killed. But how can a mother believe that her son is dead? I have a strong belief that he will return one day and let me serve him food,” she said with moist eyes. 
 Taking a deep breath, Yaseen’s father, Ghulam Muhammad said, he was not involved in any subversive activities. “He was a commerce graduate trying hard to start business for supporting the family. We had even approached the National Human Rights Commission but it rejected our case. We have lived past 10 years in memory of our son. We hope that the present Government will help us to locate whereabouts of our beloved son,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 1 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 1 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 2 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST