J&K: Encounter Death, Alleged Police Torture Spark Outrage In Gujjar Community 

A few hours after Pervaiz Ahmad had left his home in Jammu to buy medicines for his mother, his family received a call that his blood-splattered body had been wheeled into a hospital.  Ahmad, who had married only one and a half months before, was shot dead by police a few miles away from his home on July 24 in what they described as a shootout with two drug peddlers. 

While Ahmad was killed on the spot, the police said that the other drug peddler managed to escape. Ahmad’s family, which belongs to the Gujjar lineage, has denied these charges. They said that he was working in the family business of rearing cattle. 

Hundreds of miles away, in another incident in Kashmir, a Gujjar cop, Khursheed Ahmad Chouhan, was also detained in a drug peddling case. He was alleged subjected to torture with his private parts being cut in police custody.

Members of the Gujjar community and political leaders have reacted sharply over Ahmad’s death in the police encounter and the alleged custodial torture of a cop in Jammu and Kashmir.

Ahmad’s case is also being taken up by National Conference (NC) MP, Mian Altaf, in Parliament. Other leaders and politicians from across the spectrum have denounced measures of targeted attacks on the Gujjar community, particularly in the Hindu-majority areas of Jammu, referring to the earlier cases as well where members of the scheduled tribes faced attacks.

Death in the Encounter, Allegations of Police Excesses

Ahmad’s family members said that he led an everyday life and had no connection with drug peddling. He ran the family’s cattle-rearing business in the Beli Charana area of Jammu. He would also do farming on the family land to eke out a living.

“As of now, no action has been taken that would make us feel that we have got justice. “The police are only saying that they are investigating the matter,” said Ahmad’s cousin-in-law, Chaudhry Shafi.

Ahmad had bullet marks in the chest, and his blood-soaked body remained crumpled on the road before the man was declared dead at a local hospital, his family said. By the time Shafi reached the hospital, Ahmad had already died.

“Police have assured the job of the SPO to his brother, and they have admitted wrongdoing on their part. There was no previous police case lodged against him,” added Shafi.

In Chouhan’s detention case, the family has alleged police excesses. According to the family, the cop who works in Srinagar remained hospitalised for six days due to the alleged police torture in 2023, and they were forced to approach the Supreme Court to seek justice in the case. 

In his petition to the Supreme Court — which led the Central Bureau of Investigation to name six policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, as accused — Chouhan alleged that his private parts were severed. He was subjected to electric shocks, leaving him hospitalised.

“The case is being monitored by the Supreme Court,” said Chouhan’s wife, Rubeena, who lives with her husband in the North Kashmir area of Kupwara.

What Police Said

Ahmad’s death is under investigation, Senior Superintendent of Police Jammu, Joginder Singh, said.

“We are investigating the issue and looking into the allegations,” he said.

Over the alleged custodial torture of Chouhan, Senior Superintendent of Police Kupwara, Jeelani Wani, said that the matter was being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation based on Supreme Court directions. 

“There is already a Supreme Court direction and the matter is being probed by the CBI,” he said.

Following the public outcry, the authorities ordered a magisterial probe into Ahman’s death, appointing a Sub Divisional Magistrate as an inquiry officer in the case. Within a week of the death, a notice was issued asking people to voluntarily come forward with “any relevant information, eyewitness accounts, video footage, or other evidence that may aid in the probe.” 

Two policemen have also been suspended for their involvement in the case.

Gujjar Leaders Express Outrage

Several Gujjar leaders have reacted sharply over these incidents of police excesses and have sought stern action against those who are involved in the cases.

National Conference MP and prominent Gujjar leader, Mian Altaf, said that he has already raised the issue in Parliament and has urged authorities to ensure that a case is registered against erring police officials involved in Ahmad’s killing. “We have sought a case to be registered against the police officials who are involved in the killing,” said  Altaf.

Former Minister and senior Congress leader Taj Mohi-ud-din said that both the cases of Jammu and Srinagar should be properly investigated. “We want a fair probe into both incidents.”

NC leader and MLA Budhal, Javed Iqbal, said that both incidents trace a pattern of targeted attacks on the Gujjar community. “Earlier, there have been targeted attacks on the members of the Gujjar community in Rajouri and other parts of Jammu. There are vested interests that want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere by targeting Muslim Gujjars. These latest incidents only highlight that pattern.”

R K Kalsotra, a Schedule Tribe activist, said that both the cases involving two men from the Gujjar community from Jammu and Srinagar should be impartially investigated. Those who are involved in the excesses should be dealt with sternly. 

“There is a need to end the atrocities against the people from the ST community. Such extrajudicial killings reflect a breakdown of justice. The matter of the alleged fake encounter in Jammu should be investigated by the CBI,” said Kalsotra, who is the President of Dalit, OBC, Minority and Adivasi Confederation (DOMA).

J&K CM, Others Seek Probe

With the police being handled by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Abdullah has sought a probe into the matter. 

“The killing of Mohd Parvez of Niki Tawi in Jammu is deplorable and deeply regrettable. Use of force by the police has to be calibrated and cannot be indiscriminate. J&K has paid a heavy price in the past because of incidents such as these. This incident should be investigated in a transparent and time-bound manner,” Omar said in a post on X.

Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party President, Mehbooba Mufti, said that the extrajudicial encounters shouldn’t be condoned.

“Mohammad Parvez, a tribal youth, was killed by the police at Surat Chak, Police Station in Satwari, yesterday. He’s now been labelled as a drug dealer, but even that may be the case. We still live in a democratic country where justice is served through the rule of law as opposed to khap panchayats or kangaroo courts,” said the PDP chief.

She added that the DG should take cognisance of this “shocking incident” by ordering a time-bound impartial probe.