‘We organised the protest to ask for justice. Booked under anti-terror law for it’
Srinagar: The father of slain Athar Mushtaq who was killed in a military operation in Srinagar on December 31 has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Speaking to Free Press Kashmir a family member of Mushtaq Ahmed, a resident of the Bellow area in Pulwama said, “Nobody earlier informed us about any such development.”
Sources however told Free Press Kashmir that Athar’s Father including six others have been booked under FIR Number 7/2021 U/S 147, 341, 13 ULA RPC lodged at the Police station of Rajpora in Pulwama.
The family said that they had organised a protest in the Masjid, for demanding justice, and they have been booked for that, along with and six other people.
“We were not informed by the police that they have been booked. We heard it from the people,” he said.
“We had organised the protest at the Masjid to ask for justice. And we have been booked under anti-terror laws for it,” he told Free Press Kashmir. “We did not block any road. We wanted to protest to let the police know our demands so they help us in getting justice. However, they have booked us instead”
The family said that the police had summoned a few people, including the Imam of the Masjid, and told them they have been booked. However, he was never summoned.
The family also said that they will fight for Justice through a proper legal channel. “No matter if we have to move to the supreme court, we will move there to get the bodies back,” his uncle had said.
Mehbooba Mufti, the former Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir tweeted, “after losing his son in an alleged fake encounter, Athar Mushtaq’s father has been slapped with an FIR for demanding his dead body. His crime was to stage a peaceful protest. The inhabitants of Naya Kashmir can’t even question a callous admin & have been reduced to living corpses.”
Pertinently, 0n December 30, 2020, families of three “militants killed in a military operation” by a joint team of police, CRPF and Army at Lawaypora in city outskirts of Srinagar staged a protest, asserting that they were “innocent civilians”.
In this regard, the police had said, that “three unidentified militants have been killed while the house where militants were hiding suffered partial damage.”
In the second statement, police said that three “militants” were killed in a gunfight in Lawaypora area and none of them was on its “list of militants, yet two of them were hardcore associates (OGWs) of militants while third one might have joined very recently.”
In the third statement issued by police on January 1, 2021, after claims by the families of slain trio claiming they were not linked with militancy, police said that “technical verification of the slain trio has revealed that two among the three slain were “radically inclined and were OGWs of Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit now TRF”.
“Nevertheless police is investigating into the case from all possible angles,” the statement added.
Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 advocates Punishment for unlawful activities for Whoever, takes part in or commits, or advocates, abets, advises or incites the commission of, any unlawful activity, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Whoever, in any way, assists any unlawful activity of any association declared unlawful under section 3, after the notification by which it has been so declared has become effective under sub-section (3) of that section, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.
