THE 'massacre'at Hazratbal follows close upon the heels of the popular upheaval caused by the inhuman killing of lawyer and human rights activist Jalil Andrabi.
THE 'massacre'at Hazratbal follows close upon the heels of the popular upheaval caused by the inhuman killing of lawyer and human rights activist Jalil Andrabi.
While driving home from court on March 8, Andrabi had been picked up by a posse of men allegedly from the Rashtriya Rifles in full view of bystanders. He was then declared missing by the police, army and paramilitary forces. On March 28, his decomposed body was recovered from the banks of the Jhelum at Rajbagh, Srinagar.
The death of the lawyer, just days before he was scheduled to fly to Geneva where he was to attend a human rights conference, is seen as a blackmark on the government. Though the police are now investigating the case, the popular perception is that Andrabi was killed by the Rashtriya Rifles for his human rights activism. Police officials privately admit that there's enough circumstantial evidence pointing to death in custody.
The Srinagar Bar Association, which will be pursuing the case, had earlier filed a habeas corpus petition, but the army and the BSF as well as the local police had filed affidavits in the high court that Andrabi was not in their custody. The judge had then directed the Union home secretary and the defence secretary to file affidavits on the disappearance of the lawyer. After Andrabi's body was discovered, the high court directed the Principal of the Government Medical College to constitute an independent team to conduct the autopsy. The report of the team is awaited.
Meanwhile, the news of Andrabi's death brought normal life in Srinagar to a halt. The city observed a bandh on the day of his funeral, as the lawyer's body was laid to rest at the martyr's graveyard in the Srinagar Eidgah on March 28. Thousands turned up for the funeral despite the clamping of Section 144, which forbids crowds of five or more persons from assembling. Along the route where the funeral procession passed, women came out from their homes shouting anti-government slogans. Prominent Hurriyat leaders were present, as were lawyers, friends and relatives of Andrabi. It was a tearful farewell.
On the international front, the killing has evoked strong protests from human rights groups, and has threatened to tarnish India's image in the West.
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