Srinagar, Sep 1: Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has served notice to ex-Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) PS Gill directing him to file his personal response in abduction of six foreigners allegedly by Al-Faran militants in 1995.
Hearing the case, the Division bench of the SHRC comprising Javaid Kawoos and Rafiq Fida expressed strong resentment over Gill’s non-response and issued notice directing him to file his response by September 18.
“In last communication addressed to Gill it was impressed upon him to file his response to avoid adverse inference. Still he did not respond. He is given another opportunity to file his personal response in the case by September 18,” the Bench said.
During previous hearing of the case on August 13, the SHRC had passed strictures against Gill for failing to respond to its repeated communications and directed him to file his response to avoid adverse inference against him.
SHRC officials said that if Gill did not file his response by due date this time, the Commission will not only pass strictures against him but recommend action against him.
“If Gill does not respond this time, the Commission will construe that he has nothing to say in his defence and pronounce judgment and recommendation on the basis of evidence and statements on record,” they added.
Gill was IGP Kashmir when the foreigners, Paul Wells and Keith Mangan of Britain, Dirk Hassert (Germany), John Childs and Donald Hutching (US) and Hans Christan Ostro (Norway) were kidnapped by little-known Al-Faran militant group from the forests of Pahalgam in 1995.
While Child’s managed to escape under the cover of darkness six days after his abduction, 27-year-old Ostro was killed and his body was located on August 13, 1995. The other four foreigners remain untraced.
The case took a twist following disclosures in a book “Meadows” released earlier this year that the foreigners were killed on the directions of the security forces. On these allegations, the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice and Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) had filed a joint petition in the SHRC on April 6 this year seeking a fresh probe into the case.
In its report the Jammu and Kashmir Police has submitted before the Commission that the master file of the case retained in the office of SSP, Crime was gutted during the fire on September 11 2010.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 1 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
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