On August 6, some family members of Talib Hussain had gone to meet the later at police station Samba where they complained the activist was ruthlessly beaten up by the police inside the lock-up.
According to some media reports quoting family members of Hussain, the Bakerwal activist was beaten up so badly inside the police lock-up that his head was bleeding. Some other reports claimed Hussain’s skull was broken in the custodial attack.
One of the family members also claimed that initially Samba police didn’t allow him to meet with the activist but when he was later allowed Hussain looked anxious, pale and unhealthy.
He also said that Hussain told him the police were harassing him for raising his voice in the the Kathua case and that he could be killed in custody.
Gulzar Begum, Hussain’s maternal aunt says she had gone to the police station to meet with him. She was accompanied by her son Wasid.
“I was allowed to meet him (Hussain) for five minutes but not allowed to give him food and juice I was carrying for him. As we left, two people in civvies walked in and started beating him (Hussain) up.,” Gulzar begum said.
“Then police gave him some injection and took him to hospital. We were not allowed to go with him.”
Hussain is a key witness in the case of the horrific rape and murder of an 8-year-old Bakerwal child that evoked global outrage.
Taking note of the alleged attack on the Bakerwal activist, Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising took to Twitter on August 6 with an “Action Alert”.
“Talib Hussain – who was arrested last week – has been tortured in Samba police station while on police remand, skull broken, rushed to hospital in Samba, he is a key witness in the Kathua gang rape-murder case,” Jaisingh said on the microbolgging website
“This is unacceptable in a democracy.”
Later the renowned SC lawyer posted an update:
“Latest:
Talib has been sent back to the same police station in Samba where he was assaulted. Samba hospital did not allow Talib’s relatives to meet him there. Relatives saw him at the police station. Head was bandaged, bleeding.
No further info as of now.”
Police version:
Contradicting the allegations by Hussain and his relatives, the Jammu and Kashmir police claimed the Bakerwal activist hit himself against the walls of the police lock-up and that he sustained only minor injuries.
“Hussain hit himself on the head ‘out of frustration’ and had only sustained scratches. He was taken back to the Samba Police Station from the hospital,” SP Vaid, director general of police was quoted saying in reports.
Samba police, however told Greater Kashmir that Hussain tried to end his life by hitting his head against the walls of the lock-up and that he was booked in case FIR number 215/2018 under section 309 of the RPC.
Talib Hussain Choudhary is the man who vociferously raised the Kathua gang-rape and murder case of a Bakerwal child from the day the crime was reported.
He was booked on August 1 on the complaint of a woman, his relative, alleging attempt to rape by the activist in the forest area of Mansar in Samba district.
In the complaint, the woman alleged Hussain tried to rape her about a month and half earlier in the forest of Chidawa in Mansar area of Samba district where she was grazing cattle.
The complainant also said Hussain was armed with a knife when he intercepted her and that he also touched her private parts inappropriately and later beat her.
Hussain was booked in case FIR under Section 376 and 4/25 Arms Act of the RPC at Samba police station on Tuesday.
His relatives however claimed the police framed Hussain in a false case for highlighting the Kathua gang-rape and murder of a child from his community.