Srinagar, Sept 3: The family of teenager Omar Qayoum Bhat of Soura, who died last week after being brutally tortured by police in custody, has said that police was not registering an FIR in the case. The family has sought justice for their only son and demanded punishment to the police officers who tortured him in custody.
Taking to media persons on Friday, the family said that they’ve been repeatedly going to police for registering an FIR but to no avail.
“More than a week has passed since Omar’s death. We have been approaching the police but they did not file an FIR,” said Omar’s father, Muhammad Qayoum Bhat.
“We want justice. We want the policemen who tortured him be bought to book,” he said.
Omar breathed his last at SKIMS on August 25. A class XI student, he was picked up by police on August 20 along with two other youth—Amir Bashir Sheikh son of Bashir Ahmad of Umarheir, Buchpora, and Irshad Ahmad Bhat son of Ghulam Qadir of Dar Mohalla, Soura, during protests near his Malik Sahab locality.
However, the three were granted bail a few days later by a court and they went home.
Qayoom said police brutally tortured his son in custody and didn’t allow him to take him to hospital. At the time of his arrest, he said his son was thrashed against an iron shutter of a shop and an electric pole.
“The day he was arrested, I went to see him in the police station. He was panic-stricken and frail due to the beating by police. He asked me to take him to hospital. I pleaded with the police officers including SHO as well as Sub-Inspector Zahoor Ahmad for his release but they didn’t listen,” he said.
He said he again approached the SI after some time. “I told him that Omar was fasting. But the police abused me saying he would be given urine for Iftaar,” Qayoum said and broke down.
Omar, he said, was tortured during that night. “Omar said police had broken two bamboo sticks and a gun-butt on his shoulder.”
“Next day after his bail, I was allowed to take him to hospital. The doctors told me it was too late. They told me that his lungs and kidneys were badly damaged due to torture after blood loss from his internal organs,” he said.
“The police had even given him electric shocks. They killed him… they killed my son,” he said.
Omar’s uncle, Muhammad Ayub, said they want an FIR be registered so that the killers are brought to book.
“We don’t want any other family should suffer like this. The killers must be punished so that it acts as a deterrent in future,” he asserted.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 3 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 3 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 4 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST