Reopen Tufail Mattoo case: Amnesty to Govt MUDDASIR ALI Srinagar, June 17: Human rights watch-dog Amnesty International has asked Jammu and Kashmir Government to reopen investigation into the killing of Tufail Mattoo allegedly by police in 2010. Tufail, a class 12 student of Saida Kadal here, was killed on June 11 after a police teargas shell allegedly hit him near Gandhi Memorial College when he was returning home from tuition. Tufail died on the spot. “Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have an obligation under national and international law to conduct prompt and thorough investigations into the deaths,” said a statement by AI. “Delayed, partial or incomplete investigations violate the rights of the victims’ families to effective remedy and accountability, and contribute to the prevailing climate of impunity in J&K.” In July 2010, a local court here directed police to register a case into the killing after Mattoo’s father, Muhammad Ashraf, approached the court. Exactly a year after, the High Court directed constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of police to investigate the killing on speedy basis. In November 2012, the SIT submitted a case closure report to the trial court stating that “all the possibility of collecting evidence” in the case was explored to reach some conclusion but SIT was “not able to find any conclusive evidence till now”. The report however says that “secret search” would continue and if “anything comes to knowledge”, the investigation of the case shall be reopened. The family however challenged the closure orders of the trial court in the High Court. The Court asked the police to produce before it all evidence evaluated during the investigation and the case is listed for hearing next month. Tufail’s killing triggered unrest in Kashmir during 2010 during which more than 120 persons were killed in action by police and other security forces. “The J&K Government should accelerate delayed investigations into other killings which took place during 2010,” said the AI. “Amnesty International India urges authorities in J&K to promptly bring those suspected of criminal responsibility in the deaths of those killed in firing by security forces in 2010 to trial in fair proceedings.” The AI has noticed that “many of the killings caused by the use of force” in 2010 have not yet been investigated. The police have said that 79 First Information Reports were registered relating to the deaths of which charges were filed only in 43 cases, the AI said. “The police have closed 18 cases because they say the perpetrators were untraced.” In 2010 the state government appointed a judicial commission to probe into 17 killings. But the commission stopped functioning in 2011 when the judges serving on it resigned. On June 7, 2013, the High Court gave the government four weeks to state when the commission would resume its investigation and asked it to explain why it was looking into only 17 cases.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:17:39 +0000
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