Srinagar: Even as the state police claimed his role in mobilizing the youth in 2016 unrest, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) Monday wrote an open letter to the world rights bodies, urging them to take note over framing a differently-abled person in ‘fabricated charges’.

“To camouflage its acts, Police is trying to frame a specially-abled person in acts which are not even possible for a healthy person. International human rights bodies should take a serious note of these human rights violations.” JRL comprising of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said.

JRL said it has written to International Red Cross committee, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and United Nation Human Rights Commission, seeking their intervention into the matter of specially-abled Tanveer Ahmad War, son of Muhammad Shaban War, resident of old town Baramulla who is serving his second consecutive Public Safety Act in Kot-Balwal jail Jammu.

According to JRL, a 35-year old man is disabled due to polio and from his childhood has not been able to walk on his feet.

“Besides this permanent disability, he is suffering from many diseases and has to live on medicines. This specially-abled person was arrested by Baramulla police on 21st September 2017. He was ruthlessly beaten, tortured and humiliated at various police stations and was slapped with arbitrary Public safety act (PSA), and sent to Kupwara sub-jail. Tanveer Ahmad challenged the safety act in Kashmir high court and the court quashed his PSA and ordered his release. Instead of releasing him on court orders, police and civil administration slapped another PSA on him and immediately shifted him to Kot-Balwal Jail in Jammu,” they said.

The JRL said, “he has been shifted to Srinagar central jail for appearing in an examination and it is here we came across to his story.”

“After his story was published in local dailies, on Dec 03, police came out with a rebuttal and accused this handicapped person of being the main culprit for disturbing law and order in Baramulla district of Kashmir,” JRL said.

“It is ironical that the state authorities find a physically challenged prisoner too dangerous to be freed, although the courts repeatedly quashed his detention under Public Safety Act. Crippled due to polio since childhood, this 35-year-old young man from Baramulla is incarcerated for various charges such as hoisting flags atop a mobile phone tower, high-jacking truckloads of stones, ‘leading violent mobs’ and also ‘provoking a slain resistance leader’ to march towards the Line of Control in 2008, but no one is asking police and civil administration that how can a crippled man climb up a high tower and highjack trucks and force people to march towards LoC,” reads JRL statement.

JRL said that as a matter of fact in 2008, Sheikh Abdul Aziz was leading thousands of people towards LoC and one is failing to understand that how a crippled person, riding on his tricycle can force thousands of people to continue with their march, as claimed by police.

“It is our humble submission to your kind-self to take notice of this matter. We are hopeful that your intervention can bring about a positive change in the life of specially-abled Tanveer Ahmad War and his ill-fated days may come to an end. Please take up this issue at the earliest and intervene to save this young man from the wrath of oppressive authorities,” JRL said.

Guest