Srinagar, Nov 13: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Saturday castigated the police for inordinate delay in investigation into custodial killing of a civilian allegedly by Army in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district in 1991 and directed it to expedite the probe to bring the accused to justice.
In its complaint to the Commission, the family of Mangta Khan Awan of Roshanpora Kupwara stated that he was detained by the Army and subsequently killed in custody on April 7, 1991 and the accused are yet to be punished.
Taking cognizance of the case, the SHRC chairperson Justice (Retd) Syed Bashir-ud-Din had sought a factual report from the Director General of Police. “The enquiries revealed that the subject (Muhammad Rafiq Khan) was taken by 6 Sikh Regiment for carrying load in the area from Ratnipora. After a missing report was entered in Police Station Keran, two bodies including of Muhammad Rafiq Khan were recovered from Kalapad forest. The bodies were handed over their families for last rites. The case was not investigated as Khan family did not press for same. It is further stated that the subject was no involved in any kind of subversive activity,” the DGP stated in his report to the Commission.
The Chairperson observes that DGP’s report explicitly makes it clear that the deceased was innocent. “He was taken by Army as a potter for carrying its loads when he was found missing and dead,” he said.
However, the Commission took strong notice of the police version that the investigation into the case was not completed as the deceased’s family was not interested. “This statement of police militias against the very provision of law and counters the laid policy and decisions in the field of criminology that even if an offence is found to be committed or at least is reported to the police, the proceedings cannot be sculled either during investigation or trial for that reason,” the Chairperson observes.
Elaborating, the Chairperson maintains that there is no rule and law that a police investigation can be cut short and closed only because someone, may be even a relative of the victim stressed for its closure. “This part of the report does not hold the scrutiny of the law and is to be fairly ignored. Police ought to have initiated the investigation under 176 CRPC which would have determined whether the case was to be further investigated or closed depending on the facts and circumstance of the case as may have revealed on inquiry. This is not done. Obviously notwithstanding the fact that two decades have passed by-yet the police is enquire, investigate the matter and taken the proceedings thereto it logical end within the parameters of law,” he states.
The Commission directed the police to expedite the investigation to give justice to the affected family. It also recommended a monetary relief of Rs 1 lakh and benefit of SRO-43 to the family.

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