National Highway

[An edited, shorter version of this article by me appeared this morning in Sakaal Times.]

The European Union sub-committee on human rights will hold tomorrow a hearing in its Brussels tomorrow on the discovery of mass graves and alleged intimidation and attacks on human rights activists in Kashmir. The hearing will be attended by Indian embassy officials as well as human rights activists.

This comes in the wake of the European Union Parliament’s resolution calling upon India to investigate not only the recently discovered mass graves but also the alleged attack by security forces on human rights activist Parvez Imroz. Imroz, an award-winning activist who is with the Association of Parents of Displaced Persons (APDP), has survived two assassination attempts in the past. The APDP has been coordinating the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir.

The resolution “Expresses its concern for the safety of Parvez Imroz and other human rights activists investigating unmarked graves and human rights abuses… and calls on India to ensure their protection and allow them to operate without fear of harassment and violence; urges the authorities to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into the attack on Parvez Imroz.”

The eleven-point resolution has also asked India to remove restrictions it has placed disallowing the UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture and on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, and the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, from visiting the Indian side of Kashmir.

At 10:10 pm on 30 June, says Imroz, a group of CRPF and J&K police personnel arrived at his house in Kralpura village, 8 kms from Srinagar city. “The broke the bulbs outside the house and started banging.” Fearing for his life, Imroz didn’t answer, rather calling his nephew who raised an alarm from the mosque and a crowd started collecting there. “So they shot at my nephew and he escaped,” he said, “and they also fired a grenade-like thing in the compound and five shots in the air as they left.”

The police, he alleges, refused to file an FIR the next day and which has still not been filed. “The charges are preposterous but we are investigating them,” SM Sahai, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir zone) told Sakaal Times. Asked if there were any charges against Imroz, Sahai said, “None at the moment but if he does something suspicious we will definitely investigate that.”

CRPF spokesperson P Tripathi, however, blamed it on the police: “The local police station received a call from Imroz that around 45 militants had laid siege to his house. The CRPF only assisted the police and was not involved in any attack on his house.”

Imroz has since then been living elsewhere, fearing for his life. Another member of the people’s tribunal, Angana Chatterji, has alleged that when she was at the airport, leaving India on 4 July, she got a call from an unknown caller who said, “Madam, we know you’re leaving. Think wisely before coming back.” Chatterji will be representing the APDP in Brussels tomorrow.