“My son was an honest individual. He drove a vehicle to take care of the needs of his family. We belong to a poor household. The army finds militants and their ground workers in moments, how is it possible that they have not been able to find the whereabouts of my son despite a month having passed? If they have killed him, we must at least have his dead body back, the politics are so helpless,” a mother wailed in Srinagar’s Lal chowk on Monday afternoon.
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Scores of Kashmiris turned out on the sunny Monday afternoon to protest seeking the whereabouts of a youth who allegedly went missing in Army custody. The protest was led by Khera Begum, the mother of Abdul Rashid Dar from Kunan Poshpora area of Kupwara along with some social activists and politicians, demanding Manoj Sinha-led administration’s intervention.
Khera Begum is around 65 years old and from the Kunan Poshpora area of Kupwara which is around 100 kilometers north of Srinagar. Amid the chill of the winter, as the temperatures dropped to minus 4 degrees, she along with a dozen relatives packed up in a bus and left for Srinagar. On Monday, the family left Kunan Poshpora around 9 AM, as they did not want to be late.
“We do not have enough money. Some relatives contributed money for helping us reach Srinagar. There hardly has been a moment when the mother stops shedding tears or asking her other sons to find their brother (Rashid),” a family member told The Kashmiriyat. Though other members of the family have partially resumed their daily activities, she lies there at the same spot where her son was snatched from her.
Her struggle begun on the same night Abdul Rashid was snatched. “She barely comes out of her house and does not like social gatherings much after the demise of her son in the year 1998, but she was the first one to get into the vehicle the family had booked for the journey towards the Srinagar protest venue on Monday,” he said.
On December 22, 2022, the Jammu Kashmir Police said that a youth identified as Abdul Rashid Dar son of Muhammed Sidiq Dar of Kunan Poshpora managed to give a slip to forces while on his way to a hideout.
In its statement, Police said Abdul Rashid was picked up for questioning in connection with a militancy-related case. “On his revelation about the hideout, he gave a slip to the forces. We are investigating in which circumstances he managed to flee. We are in touch with his family also,” the Police had said.
His mother said that he (Abdul Rashid) was having dinner at his home when the Army raided the house and detained him without any reason. “On the night of 15 December, we were having dinner when the force personnel knocked at the door of our house and came shouting ‘Rashid Kahan hai’ (Where is Rashid). My son could not even wash his hands before he was taken away,” she said.
“They (Army) did not tell any of the family members the reason why he (Rashid) was being detained. I tried to plead with the Army that my son was innocent, but they snatched him away from me. I followed them to the Police station and in the meanwhile, my daughter got the local Sarpanch to the Police station,” she said. She said that they (the mother and local Sarpanch) handed over Abdul Rashid to the Army on 15 December, after they (Army) said he (Abdul Rashid) was needed for questioning.
“I looked at my son and held him tight as tears rolled down his cheeks. I told him that the Army officer had assured me that he will be out soon. The officer whisked him away in his vehicle after promising me that he will hand my child to me at 10 AM the next morning,” the mother said.
Hilal Ahmed Dar, the brother of the arrested said that they contacted the Army officer through various DDC members, however, the concerned officer delayed meeting the family for one or the other reason. When the mother went to the camp the next day, i.e., 16 December, she was told to return at 4 PM as some questioning was going on, she said.
“When I returned to the camp at 4, some Army men told me that my son had escaped from custody,” she said. The family went to the Local Police station to complain regarding the entire issue and they have been assured full help, as per the family members.
Meanwhile, the Government forces have issued a notice stating that the person Abdul Rashid Dar is missing.
They also issued phone numbers for helping them locate the person. “Contact SHO Trehgam 9596333888 or Town commander 8493014107, if you have any information on the missing person,” the Army said in its notice circulated online.
Rashid drives a small load carrier to take care of his family of three which includes his paralyzed father, his mother and a sister. His two brothers, one of whom is a Police cop live separately. He worked very hard as a labour and resorted to all small works to see to his families needs including the medial expenses of his ill father.
“If we do not get the body back, we will eventually light a matchstick and burn ourselves in the middle of Lal Chowk and the LG will be solely responsible for our death,” Khera Begum, who travelled a distance of over 130 Kilometres from her home town in north Kashmir to reach Srinagar’s Lal chowk said.
“He is my maternal uncle. They didn’t allow him to wear shoes nor his apparels, they told us that they had already informed the police but they were lying. First, they raided our home,” , Rashid’s niece said, adding, a day after he went missing, the local SHO went to check on him, but the officer was told that Rashid ran away from the custody of the Indian Army.
“We cannot believe this version of the Army, as at that point of time entire Kunan Poshpora was under the influence of military,” a niece of Rashid said. She asked how was it even possible that Rashid ran away from an army camp.
The family has been protesting in Kupwara, Srinagar seeking the whereabout of their missing kin.
“He is such an innocent individual. I beg you, please return my son back, he used to work as load carrier and whatever he used to earn, he spent all of it on his family and household. The army has devastated our lives. I seek an answer. Why did you take away my son,” Khera Begum hollered.