Horror behind the bars in Shaher-e-Khaas!

Srinagar, Dec 11 : The parents of accused stone-pelters who were released last night have accused police of excesses like denial of food, water and medicines during the detention.

 65-year-old Ghulam Qadir Sheikh who was detained for four days in Nowhatta and Kothibagh Police Stations alleged of excesses. “It was worst experience of my life. They dragged me like animal. They abused us all including daughters and sisters,” Sheikh narrated at his house near historic Jamia Masjid.

 Recalling the fateful night of his arrest, Sheikh said: “At around 12 PM, we heard screaming at main doors. As we were trying to figure out what is happening, our door was banged repeatedly.”

 “We got scared and in the meantime they(policemen) broke our windows and forced entry into the house,” Sheikh said.

 “They asked us about my younger son and we simply replied that he was not at home. And then they grabbed my collar and whisked me away in Gypsy to police station.”

 Sheikh said he suffers from blood pressure and number of ailments. “We were denied food, medicines, water and even ablution until we were shifted to Kothi Bagh police station,” Sheikh said adding there he was “treated well”.

 Echoing Sheikh, father of another 18-year-old alleged stone-pelter, Muhammad Hussain Khan (55) said: “At around 11:45 PM police banged our door repeatedly. We got scared and finally somehow mustered courage to open it.”

 “As soon as I opened the door, they asked about my son and started abusing us. Some of them went inside on the pretext of searching and ransacked our households,” he said adding “When they could not find my son, they threw something in my neck and bundled me in a Gypsy.”

 Khan also accused the Nowhatta Police of terrorizing them and accused them of depriving them of food, medicines and water. “We shivered with cold on the cement floors of Nowhatta police station. They didn’t even provide us a blanket,” Khan complained. He however was also praise for Kothibagh police officials.

 Other parents of the accused stone pelters also accused the Nowhatta Police of excesses in detention.

 The four parents Sheikh Ghulam Qadir (65), Muhammad Hussain Khan (65), Fayaz Ahmad Zargar and Ghulam Mohammad Ahmad Sofi were arrested by police a few days ago back during raids at their houses.

 When Contacted SDPO, Nowhatta, Sajad Ahmed Shah refuted the allegations saying the four were never detained at Nowhatta Police Station but instantly shifted. “As soon as they were arrested, they were shifted to Kothibagh police station,” the SDPO told Greater Kashmir.

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