Questioned by cops, youth found dead at home in Kathua; magisterial probe ordered
According to police, 25-year-old allegedly killed self on Thursday at his home in Kathua tehsil after he was called for routine questioning to extract information about terrorists
A day after death of a 25-year-old Gujjar youth under mysterious circumstances in his house, the Kathua district administration and Jammu and Kashmir Police, on Thursday, have ordered magisterial and fact-finding probes respectively.
According to police, 25-year-old allegedly killed self on Thursday at his home in Kathua tehsil after he was called for routine questioning to extract information about terrorists.
Kathua DC Rakesh Minhas ordered a magisterial inquiry to determine the exact cause of death. Minhas appointed tehsildar of Lohai Malhar as the inquiry magistrate. He has been asked to submit a comprehensive report within five days.
However, Billawar station house officer, inspector Jatinder Singh, stated that the deceased died by suicide at his home. “He killed self at his home. His uncle is a terrorist and is hiding in Pakistan. We used to call the deceased for routine questioning,” said the SHO.
He informed that post mortem was done but the report was awaited. We have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 194 of the BNSS, he added.
The office of the inspector general of police Jammu zone Bhim Sen Tuti has also ordered a fact finding probe.
“With regard to the death (by suicide) of a person of district Billawar, a fact-finding enquiry is hereby ordered which shall be conducted by Shiv Kumar, IPS DIG JSK Range. The enquiry officer shall submit his findings in 10 days. This has the approval of IGP Jammu Zone,” read the order accessed by HT.
Incident appears to follow pattern of targeting innocent youths on fabricate charges: Mehbooba
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti took X to raise her concern regarding the incident. “Shocking news from Kathua: A man from Billawar was detained by the SHO on false charges of being an OGW. He was reportedly subjected to brutal thrashing and torture, forced into a confession, and tragically found dead today,” read her post.
She went on to add, “The area has been sealed off, and internet services have been cut, leading to widespread panic. There’s an ongoing crackdown, with more individuals being picked up .This incident appears to follow a troubling pattern of targeting innocent youths on fabricated charges. I urge the DGP @JmuKmrPolice to initiate an immediate investigation.”
Authorities react to Mehbooba’s post
The police authorities have also outrightly rejected PDP chief’s claims. “Rebuttal regarding tweet of Mehbooba Mufti, which is baseless and misleading. There is no crackdown in Billawar town, traffic is plying smoothly, normal life is functioning in Billawar. Further, internet facility in district Kathua has not been hampered,” read a clarification issued here.
“Whatever is stated in the tweet of Mehbooba Mufti is not true, the deceased was the nephew of Pak exfiltrated terrorist Swar Din, alias Swaru Gujjar, who helped the same group (of terrorists) that conducted the Badnota Army Convoy attack in July 2024 in which four jawans were killed. It was the same group which led to the killing of head constable Bashir in Kohag Operation. The 25-year-old had number of suspicious contacts in Pakistan and other foreign countries. There was no custodial torture or injury. He was questioned and then got exposed, went home and committed suicide,” stated police in its clarification.
“Additional SP Operation, Billawar Amir Iqbal, Dy SP Javaid Tabassum, SDPO Billawar Neeraj Padyar and SHO Billawar Jatinder Singh have reached the spot and met with his family members and assured fair and transparent investigation,” it stated further.
Video of deceased surfaces
Meanwhile, a purported video has gone viral in which the deceased is claiming to be innocent and says that he has never had any connection with terrorists. The deceased in the clip, which was shared on a social networking site, is seen swearing in the name of Allah and claiming to have lied about being in touch with his uncle to escape the brutalities by police.
“However, to escape physical assault and brutalities under police custody, I lied to them that I am in touch with Swaru and I have many of his contact numbers in my mobile phone. I also gave them imaginary cell numbers of Swaru. When I lied to them about being in touch with Swaru and gave them imagine numbers, they (cops) stopped beating me. They sent me home telling me to bring my mobile phone. Since, I don’t have any of Swaru’s numbers, they will beat me again,” said the 25-year-old deceased in the video clip recorded by him before he killed self.
The video has now gone viral on Facebook. However, HT can’t independently verify the veracity of the clip.