Shakeel Ahmad, whose wife and sister-in-law were allegedly raped and murdered two years ago, is looking to move to an Islamic country due to alleged police harassment.
Life has come a full circle for Shakeel Ahmad Ahangar, whose wife Neelofar and her sister Aasiya were allegedly raped and murdered two years ago in Shopian, the apple rich township of south Kashmir.
Crestfallen that he did not get any justice, Shakeel now wants to leave Kashmir with his son Suzain, three, and other family members. He is seeking asylum in Islamic countries to escape `harassment’ and start a new life.
“My brother was detained in a police station,” said Shakeel on the second anniversary of the Shopian incident. “I was tortured in a dingy cell. Now before my son is arrested, it is better to leave Kashmir. I am therefore appealing to Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan and Egypt to give me and my associates asylum so that I can lead a tension free life.”
Neelofar and Aasiya’s bodies were fished out from Rambair Nallah, a stream in Shopian on May 30, 2009, a day after they went missing. Her family members and locals alleged that they were raped and murdered before their bodies were dumped in the stream.
Under public pressure, the Jammu and Kashmir government handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which eventually ruled out rape and murder and concluded that both Neelofar and Aasiya died of drowning.
“The CBI tried to cover up the crime to save people in higher places,” he said. “The Special Investigation Team too failed in its duties. Even the United Nations and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference have failed to give me justice.”
The police said as many as 14 people have so far died in different streams in Shopian in about as many years.
“Statistics reveal that 11 people have drowned in the Rambi area in Shopian,” an officer said. “This is the same stream in which two local ladies had drowned in 2009, as was proved by CBI.”
For the last two years, Shakeel has been petitioning rights organizations and civil society groups. On January 19, Shakeel traveled to Srinagar to meet UN Special Rapporteur Margaret Sekaggya. It was for the first time in 20 years that a UN Special Rapporteur was allowed to visit the state on a fact-finding mission.
“The civil society protested before the CBI office in 2010,” said Shakeel. “We protested in every way but to no avail. Even the Hurriyat has no guts to tell the truth. Cries for justice have just remained confined to words and slogans.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}