Srinagar, Aug 30: “Mummy, they did not give me food; they pushed me inside the toilet and asked me to clean it. I don’t want to go back, please save me,” Parveena quotes her 12-year old son, Faizan Sofi, after he was released from police custody on bail by a local court here. Police have charged the class 6 student of taking part in anti-Government protests and burning a police vehicle this Eid.
The kid has been slapped with FIR no. 96/2012 in police station Safakadal and booked under harsh sections of Ranbir Penal Code and Indian Penal Code: section 121 (waging war against the State), 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (member of unlawful assembly), 152 (assaulting or obstructing a public servant when suppressing riot), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage).
Countering the police accusations against her son, Parveena says that Faizan was framed by police to save their skin after they failed to nab the people behind the incident. “Why did they arrest my only son? How could he have set the police vehicle on fire? I still bathe him. Why is police against our poor family? We had to sell our two rooms to fight the legal battle after Faizan’s arrest,” Parveena says.
The family lives in an alley of Ganderpora Eidgah, in a two-storey structure which also houses three other families.
Faizan says that he was shown some videos by police and asked to name the people near the burning Gypsy. “But I have never seen any of them before,” he says.
Recounting the events on Eid, Faizan’s father Bashir Ahmed Sofi says the two offered prayers at Eidgah and headed to home soon after. “I gave him hundred rupees as Eidi and he went out to play with friends outside the house. Soon we saw smoke in the air. We got worried and tried to look for him. Luckily I found him just outside the house,” says Bashir, an auto driver.
It was the first time Sofi family saw a night raid by police. “It was around 9:30 pm when some policemen came inside our house. They asked for Faizan saying he pelts stones on police. I pleaded before them that he is too young to pelt stones, but they did not listen and tried to take him away. As Faizan was scared, we followed them and brought him back from the gate,” Bashir said.
Next morning was no different. “At around 7:30 am, police started calling us to bring Faizan to the nearby police post. We presented him there and he was detained,” he said.
When contacted, Superintendent Juvenile Home, Harwan, Ghulam Ahmed denied the charges of ill-treatment meted out to Faizan. “This is not true. We have got good facilities here, although we try to engage the children in different works,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST