Aniqa/ Mubsahir Naik
There’s barely a house in Kashmir, not familiar with the killing of Tufail Mattoo. The incident was one of the many killings that triggered violent protests in Kashmir in the first decade of the 21st century. What marked this first decade was the anger of the young, which was born out of a decade-long frustration.
The May of 2010 was not very steady, to begin with. News emerged that the Government forces had killed three villagers in cold blood near the LoC. Although they were branded as terrorists from the other side, the investigations revealed that they were the local villagers.
On June 11, 2010, the youth of a locality in Srinagar decided to demonstrate a protest in memory of the 28 innocent civilians killed in the ‘Chotta Bazar Massacre’, which marked its 19th anniversary that year. Protests had erupted in the adjacent neighborhood, the Government forces killed 17- year old Tufail Mattoo who was returning from his tuition classes.
Tufail, who belonged to the Saida Kadal locality of the old Srinagar, died when a tear gas shell hit his head near Gani Memorial College. This killing led to the eruption of massive protests all across Kashmir. The official figures state that over 110 civilians lost lives in the aftermath of the incident.
An overwhelming majority of these civilians were children, including 12 years old Danish Sultan, who according to the locals, was forced to jump into Jehlum after the armed forces chased him. He lost his life by drowning.
Initially, the police refused to lodge an FIR. It was only possible after the intervention of CJM, Srinagar that the FIR was registered but Tufail’s father, Ashraf Matto had to wait thirty-six days for it.
Two years after Tufail’s killing, in the December of 2012, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the J&K Police, which had first investigated the case, closed the investigation by declaring the culprits “untraced”.
A commission led by Justice ML Koul, a retired judge was appointed by then Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, to probe the civilian killings of 2010. The Koul Commission submitted its report to Mehbooba Mufti in December 2016, who was the CM at the time. The report recommended that a CBI inquiry should be ordered in Tufail’s case. But the report wasn’t made public for reasons best known to those in power.
The Kashmiriyat spoke to Ashraf Mattoo on the 11th death anniversary of his lone son who said that with time his hope in the judicial process is eroding. “Though I have a very little hope of getting justice, the only thing that has kept me alive is that I have been able to expose how the judicial system works in Kashmir. The only thing I got from the judiciary was the registration of FIR,” Mr. Matoo told The Kashmiriyat.
For the past two years, he said, he is not aware whether any development has been made in the case. The last time the family appeared before the court was in July 2019 shortly before the abrogation of the special status of Jammu Kashmir. “We were told then that the Judge has been transferred and the new judge is yet to join. After the abrogation of Article 370 and the state was bifurcated, a long curfew was imposed, which was followed by the Covid-19 lockdown.”
A frail man with white hair who began has struggle for justice when his hair was lush black, running from pillar to post to “dig justice wherever a bit of it exists, Mr, Matoo says, “Tufail was our only child, Before him, we had three kids but all of them died during infancy. Tufail was our only child and he too was taken away from us, having a single child and losing him in such a manner, nobody can feel the pain we’ve been through. My wife and I have rested our case with Allah. My wife is quiet and silent. She doesn’t talk to anyone. I do all the discussions about my son’s case. We both feel the pain deeply. I talk about it but she doesn’t. We live with the hope that God will deliver justice. I feel honored to be the father of Martyr Tufail.”
Calling the murder of Tufail cold-blooded murder he said, “Those who killed my son for their medals have to answer Allah on the Day of Judgement. Even the judiciary has shielded the culprits.”
A special investigating team once again closed the case but the father of Tufail did not give up his struggle for justice. He filed an objection in court. The judge ruled that there were loopholes in the police investigation, and also added that the police were trying to shield the accused.
“We are dealing with inhuman people in the most inhuman institutions. I remember once we went to the Human Rights Office, where we were told that they can’t do anything and that we should not move to any other department. What was the purpose of that State Human Rights commission? While fighting my son’s case I learned that the court is following the directions of the police,” Mr. Matoo told The Kashmiriyat.
On the 11th death anniversary of Tufail today, the family visited the grave of Tufail in Martyr’s graveyard which is a stark reminder of Kashmir’s bloodied conflict and an ever-lasting memory for the families who lost their beloved to decades of years of conflict.
“I remember all the sons who held him on their shoulders. I remember all those who were blinded with pellets or killed with bullets. We feel proud of our children. They were brave and strong. There is no price for the blood of our children. I will fight the case until the day I die, even with a little to no hope of getting justice. The sacrifice of my son, like others, will continue to live till we get what we are aspiring for.”