On 8th March, 1996, prominent human rights activist and Kashmiri lawyer, Jalil Andrabi was abducted from his home. On March 27, 1996, his decomposed body was discovered in the Jhelum river.
Andrabi dedicated his life to advocating for civil liberties, a commitment that ultimately cost him his life in March 1996.
As we reflect on his legacy, we are reminded of Herodotus’ words: “Of all men’s miseries, the bitterest is this, to know so much and to have control over nothing.”
Advocate Jalil Andrabi was intimately familiar with the realities of human rights violations in Kashmir and had meticulously documented cases by gathering information from victims’ families and witnesses.
Andrabi was constantly harassed for his political views by the officials of the time, but that did not hamper him from documenting and representing the case of the weak and the disempowered Kashmiris. He had participated in various international conferences, including a trip to Geneva in August 1995 to attend the ’47th session of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights.’
During his participation in the United Nations Sub-Commission, Andrabi delivered two interventions, one on August 7, 1995. On this occasion, he asserted, “Atrocities inflicted on my people constitute war crimes prohibited under international conventions and declarations. The government must be compelled to allow the people of Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination under UN auspices.”
”The atrocities,” he said, “which are perpetrated upon my people are not aberrations but rather integral components of a systematic policy. These atrocities are being perpetrated as a weapon of war in order to break the will of the people.”
The 36-year-old lawyer who was also chairman of the Kashmir Commission of Jurists fought tirelessly over many years to improve prison conditions and document cases of arbitrary arrests, detention, custodial killings, and “disappearances.”
In October 1994, following a petition filed by Andrabi, the High Court in Srinagar ordered the establishment of district committees comprised of judicial, police, and medical authorities to make regular visits to all jails, detention centers, and police lockups in the state.
His reports from December 1994 uncovered widespread evidence of illegal detention, torture, and ill-treatment. Additionally, in October 1995, another petition by Jalil Andrabi led to assurances from the state government that “no prisoner would be detained outside the state.”
Andrabi was slated to represent the Kashmir Commission of Jurists another time before the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva from March 18, 1996, however, in January 1996, he informed journalists that he was aware of being on the government’s hit list since his attendance at the Commission in Geneva the previous year.
Andrabi attended a conference in New Delhi, where he publicly held state authorities accountable for human rights violations in Jammu Kashmir.
The kidnapping
On January 30, 1996, Jalil Andrabi disclosed to journalists that two unidentified armed men, potentially renegades, had attempted to lure him from his home the day before, prompting him to covertly photograph them. There are unconfirmed reports suggesting that these two men were subsequently killed.
On the evening of March 8, Jalil Andrabi was abducted from his car by personnel of the 35 Rashtriya Rifles unit stationed at Budgam as he was driving home with his family.
The group of paramilitaries, led by a major and accompanied by renegades acting as “spotters,” detained Andrabi.
Despite his wife Rifat’s attempts to file a First Information Report (FIR) naming army personnel responsible for the abduction, she was refused. The Inspector General of Police later reassured Rifat Andrabi over the phone, claiming that Andrabi was “with them” and would be released after the completion of investigations.
On March 27, 1996, Andrabi’s decomposed body was discovered in the Jhelum river His hands bound, face mutilated, with gunshot wounds and multiple bruises covering his body, Andrabi had clearly endured unspeakable violence.
He had been taken into custody by the 35 Rashtriya Rifles Unit of the Indian Army on March 8, 1996, and the autopsy report indicated that he had likely been killed approximately two weeks prior.
Jalil Andrabi, a 36-year-old civil rights lawyer, was a devoted husband and father of three.
In the weeks leading up to his death, Andrabi boldly spoke out against state authorities’ human rights abuses in Jammu Kashmir, challenging the Governor’s powers and addressing the UN sub-commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
Accused major kills self in U.S.
Amidst widespread public outcry, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was established on March 14, 1996, following an order by Justice Bilal Nazki.
The discovery of Jaleel’s body in the Jhelum River on March 27, 1996, sent shockwaves through the community, but the revelations did not end there.
On April 5, 1996, the SIT made a grim discovery near Pampore, uncovering the remains of five individuals identified as counter-insurgents.
These individuals had been residing within the premises of the 35 RR headquarters in Budgam. The investigation took a significant turn in August 1996 when another counter-insurgent, Ashraf Khan, was apprehended from Baramulla.
In his statement, Khan recounted witnessing army personnel loading a gunny bag onto an army truck before departing from the camp.
Meanwhile, the major allegedly involved managed to evade justice by fleeing to Canada and subsequently to America, despite a court order to seize his passport.
In 1998, the SIT uncovered evidence linking the major to seven additional extrajudicial killings.
Subsequently, a charge sheet was filed against the accused, including the major. However, the road to justice for Jaleel’s family proved to be fraught with obstacles.
In 2009, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Srinagar dismissed the applications filed by Jaleel’s family, urging further police investigation into the matter.
Nevertheless, on December 22, 2011, the CJM directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Crime to provide a report on the progress of extraditing the accused army man from California, USA. Despite these efforts, the pursuit of justice faced continued setbacks.
In February 2012, the CJM rejected two additional applications from Jaleel’s family, seeking legal action against Avatar Singh in the murder case and the seven FIRs lodged against him under Section 302 (Murder).
On June 6, 2012, the city court ordered the prosecution to furnish an English translation of the reconstructed charge sheet, originally submitted in Urdu on May 20, 2012. However, the proceedings took an unexpected turn with the sudden death of Major Avatar Singh by suicide. The major also shot dead his family.