A 25-year-old man from the Perody area of Billawar in Jammu Kashmir’s Kathua district was found dead at his home on Thursday morning, shortly after being questioned by the police over alleged links with militants.
The incident has sparked controversy, with former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti alleging custodial torture, while the police maintain that the man died by suicide.
The deceased, identified as Makhan Din, was reportedly picked up for questioning on suspicion of being an Over Ground Worker (OGW) and later released.
This young man in #Billawar ended his life after swearing on the Holy Quran that he was tortured by the police—despite never having seen a terrorist. A tragic testimony to the sorry state of affairs. pic.twitter.com/66DJD7Q5Ag
— Firdous Tak (@takfirdous) February 6, 2025
In a video recorded before his death, Makhan is heard saying, “I have never seen militants in my life. I am being forced to confess since they have been constantly torturing me in custody. I have never ever in my life known what militants look like, but to escape the physical torture, I confessed I was in touch with people from Pakistan. They have released me for a while asking me to get the mobile phone on which I was contacting Pakistanis, but I have none. If I return without the phones, they will beat me more, which I cannot bear, so I am killing myself.”
Mehbooba Mufti, in a post on X, accused the police of falsely implicating Makhan and subjecting him to brutal torture, forcing him into a confession.
“This incident appears to follow a troubling pattern of targeting innocent youths on fabricated charges. I urge the DGP @JmuKmrPolice to initiate an immediate investigation,” she wrote, adding that a wider crackdown is underway in Billawar, with more individuals being picked up.
However, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have strongly refuted these claims. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Jammu-Kathua Range, Shiv Kumar Sharma, denied any custodial torture, stating that Makhan had suspicious contacts in Pakistan and was linked to the same group responsible for the Badnotta Army convoy attack in July 2024, which killed four Army personnel, and the Kohag operation, in which HC Bashir was killed.
“There was no custodial torture or injury. He was questioned and then got exposed, went home, and committed suicide,” the DIG stated. He further dismissed allegations of a crackdown, saying, “Life in Billawar is normal, traffic is plying smoothly, and there is no internet shutdown in the district.”
Authorities have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, with Deputy Commissioner Kathua, Rakesh Manhas, overseeing the probe.
A departmental inquiry has also been initiated, led by DIG Sharma. Senior police officers, including Additional SP Operations Billawar Amir Iqbal, DySP Javaid Tabassum, and SDPO Billawar Neeraj Padyar, have met Makhan’s family and assured a fair and transparent investigation.
Meanwhile, the incident has triggered outrage, with locals and political figures demanding accountability.