By Arsalan Shamsi And Mohsin Mushtaq
Since 2016, Urzeeba Qayoom Bhat has turned to social media as a tool for activism, a last resort when the government and judiciary failed to deliver justice for the death of her brother after alleged torture in police custody in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
The 26-year-old from Srinagar lost her brother in 2010, after he had been allegedly beaten when under arrest in the police station in Soura, a neighbourhood in Srinagar. The first information report (FIR) was registered in the same police station in 2018 against the “State through SHO (Station House Officer) Police Station Soura”, after eight years, under direction from a Srinagar court, while the chargesheet is yet to be filed.
Despite delays and setbacks, Umer’s sister still hopes for justice.
She runs pages on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook where she shares photos of Umer, case updates, instances of denied justice, details of legal hearings, and the everyday struggles they face during these proceedings.
On 20 August 2010, 17-year-old Umer Qayoom Bhat was taken into preventive detention when clashes between protestors and security forces broke out across the state after the killing of three Kashmiri youth by the Indian Army in a fake encounter in north Kashmir’s Machil area.
According to the family, Umer was picked up by the police when returning home after prayers. Urzeeba said her father, Abdul Qayoom, rushed to the police station, where he saw him lying on the floor “in a pathetic state”. Umer was released on bail the next evening and taken to the hospital, vomiting blood. The family alleged that the delay and the torture cost him his life.
They said the doctor assured them that Umer was fine and discharged him after a casual checkup. On 23 August, Umer was brought back to the hospital where doctors found Umer critical—”90% dead”, according to the doctors—and immediately put him on life support. Medical records confirmed “bilateral massive intrapulmonary haemorrhage” (bleeding in both lungs).
He was declared dead on 25 August 2010. The family alleged the death was caused by the beating in police custody and demanded an FIR against the officer on duty.
This story was originally published in article-14.com. Read the full story here.
