The alleged custodial death of a youth Rizwan Pandit of Awantipora town in south Kashmir has evoked widespread condemnation.
CPI (M) senior leader M Y Tarigami in a statement demanded judicial enquiry into the alleged custodial killing of a 28-year-old Pandit. “No civilized society can tolerate such acts. The government must order a judicial enquiry into the incident immediately. Custodial killing isn’t acceptable to any human being and whosoever is involved Pandit’s killing must be given exemplary punishment. Custodial killing is a brutality and brutalities are unacceptable in whatever form they are,” Tarigami added.
Chairman of Peoples Democratic Front Hakeem Yaseen strongly condemned the “custodial killing” of Rizwan Pandit. “Such barbaric acts against youth are totally unacceptable. More muscle power is used against the youth, the more alienation takes place. Such harsh methods are detrimental to the overall national interests,” Yaseen said in a statement.
He conveyed his heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul.
“Governor S P Malik should take stringent action against personnel who are responsible for the custodial killing of Rizwan Pandit as this barbaric act has sent shockwaves across the state. Killing of a human being in any form or manifestation is against humanity and tenants of all religions,” he added. Democratic Party Nationalist (DPN) president Ghulam Hassan Mir Tuesday condemned the “custodial death” of Pandit and expressed grief over his death. “Time bound inquiry must be initiated so that the facts be made public,” he added.
Peoples Democratic Party PDP) leader Muhammad Ashraf Mir in a statement said that “the death of a youth is cold blooded murder and it seems that previous tactics are being repeated.”
He added that such incidents will further alienate the youth, which can prove disastrous in the future.
Another PDP leader Nazir Ahmed Yatoo in a statement said that “how long we will keep losing our beloved youth. Some are getting killed in cross firing, some are caught in cross border shelling, some are killed in stone pelting, some are killed in blasts and some get killed in police custody.”
He expressed solidarity with the bereaved family and demanded thorough probe. President of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Alliance Muzafar Bhat in a statement said, “GoI needs to stop this bloodbath of Kashmiris once for all.”
“How long could we stand this agony and trauma, how long we will lose our youth, at one pretext or the other?” the president added.
Karwan-e-Islami patron Alama Ghulam Rasool Hami in a statement said that “killing of Rizwan Pandit in police custody deserves all forms of condemnation. The incident is murder of entire humanity.”
Joint Committee of Private Schools (JCPS) strongly condemned the killing. “Rizwan Asad was a brilliant school teacher loved by students and colleagues alike. We fail to imagine how anybody can kill a person like him, whose most of the time is spent among children,” said Mushtaq Canny, chairman JCPS. “We demand an impartial inquiry and time-bound result that includes strict punishment to the culprits.”
JCPS expressed its condolences with the bereaved family and hundreds of affected students.