Srinagar: The office of the District Magistrate Srinagar on Monday said it had taken note of a video in which a widowed woman, Aarifa Waheed, accused the police of helping her neighbour, Mukhtar Shah, in attempts to usurp her property.
“It has come to my notice through a video footage on social media on 27.3.2021 that there is some land dispute in the revenue village Baghat Barzulla Srinagar. The instant matter seems to be related to the erection of the gate by one party and objection to this activity by another party,” a statement by the DM’s office said.
Srinagar DM Aijaz Asad has appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Srinagar Khursheed Ahmad Shah as the inquiry officer, directing him to submit a report on the matter within two days.
In the video that went viral on Saturday, the visibly distraught woman, Aarifa Waheed, a resident of Hyderpora’s Al-Noor colony on Srinagar outskirts, pointed at policemen and policewomen and said that they were brought to “manhandle” them. “They hit us and they brought these women (cops). They are building a gate over illegal property,” she said in the video while showing her bruised finger.
She also said that the property over which the gate was being constructed was jointly owned by her and her neighbour. “They hit my mother and grandmother. We were only three women in the house at that time, I, my two kids, my mother and grandmother. They didn’t wait for us to show documents,” she said and showed civilian construction workers laying concrete and a posse of policemen present there.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate on January 27, 2021, while deciding the application of Aarifa Wahid, had directed non-applicant (Mukhtar Ahmad Shah) not to cause any interference to the applicants in using the common path/road in any way till the main case was disposed or decided.
Later on 30 January, 3rd Additional Munsif Srinagar directed Station House Officer (SHO) police post Humhama to provide protection to the life and property of the applicant with a further direction that the applicant be allowed to use the common pathway and her electric and drainage supply be not interfered.
He furthermore directed the non-applicants to stop threatening and intimidating the applicant.
Police on Sunday denied the allegations about using force after the video went viral. Later, the SSP Budgam called the parties to his office on Sunday at 10:30 am to listen to the issue.
Aarifa Waheed said that at the SSP office, police apologised to her and said that they were there on the orders of the Tehsildar.
“As per police, they were misled, and they further said that now onwards they will provide us protection,” she said.

NAZIMA SIDIQ