Punjab Newsline: Srinagar: Friday, June 08, 2012.
The Jammu and Kashmir police has indicted hundreds of CRPF men and people from other law enforcing agencies including their own men in stone pelting and other related offences and dozens of FIRs have been registered against the uniformed men in various police stations across valley since 2009. This was revealed by J&K police in reply to a RTI application filed by a civil society member.
However, what is most heartening is the fact that people in Jammu and Kashmir are increasingly arming themselves with the provisions of the legislation to ex[pose not only corruption in administration but also a deterrent to human rights violations by the law enforcing agencies.
J&K Police has registered as many 13 cases of stone pelting against Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel since 2009. In North Kashmir’s Sopore town alone seven cases have been registered against CRPF for unprovoked firing. The information has been revealed by police headquarters in response to two RTI applications filed by Khurram Parvez of J&K Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS). The RTI reply also reveals that in majority of the cases no action has been taken against the guilty CRPF men as the police claims that the cases are still under investigation.
The RTI application sought information related to the cases registered against police, CRPF and Army in different police stations of Kashmir since 2009.In his reply, Public Information Officer, Police Headquarters Srinagar furnished the information related to 40 FIRs, which have been registered at different police stations across Srinagar since 2009 against CRPF, BSF and police personnel.
The information provided by the information officer, vide letter no. CR/2012/359-X/3842 dated 30/05/2012, reveals that as many as six cases have been registered against CRPF for stone pelting. Besides, cases involving breaking of window panes, outraging modesty of women has also been registered against CRPF at Police Station Nowhatta under FIR 64/2009 by police against 44 Battalion CRPF.
However, in the ‘present status’ column, the RTI reply states that the culprits are “untraced”. Six cases of stone pelting are registered against CRPF at Police Station Safa Kadal since 2009. In 2009, Police Station Soura registered an FIR 55/2009 under Section 294 against a CRPF constable for alleged eve teasing. Subsequently, the accused CRPF man was challaned.
In 2010 also, Police Station Nishat registered a case FIR 18/2010 against 28 Battalion CRPF for eve teasing under Sections 279,427 RPC and subsequently a challan was produced against the accused in the court, the RTI reply reads.
Giving details of the cases registered against CRPF, Police, and Army in other districts of Kashmir since 2009, police headquarters has furnished a list of 94 FIRs vide letter No. CR/2012/359-X/12834-38 dated 18/05/2012.
The RTI reply, a copy of which also lies with Rising Kashmir, reveals that in 2010 as many as seven cases were registered against CRPF under Sections 302 and 307 for killing innocent youth.However, no challan has been produced against the guilty CRPF personnel or the unit involved and the status of these cases stands as ‘under investigation’.
The cases registered are FIR 304/2010 US 307, 306/2010 under Section 307, 356/2010 under Section 307,413/2010 under Section 302,476/2010 under Section 302 and 493/2010 under Section 307, all registered at Police Station Sopore against unknown CRPF men.
The reply reveals that in 2009 police also registered a case FIR 107/2009 against 129 CRPF Battalion under Sections 147,148,149,332 for assaulting police personnel. However, the accused are said to be untraced.A case FIR 22/2009 was also registered against 181 Battalion CRPF at Police Station Rajpora Pulwama under Section 452,302 RPC for unprovoked firing.
The reply reveals that in 2009 an FIR 27/2009 was registered against 180 Battalion CRPF at Police Station Tral for molestation under Section 354 RPC. Incidentally, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) had depicted J&K police as a villain in a 23-page study titled “Role and functioning of the CRPF” stating that the state police uses the paramilitary personnel as a shield and pass on the blame to them while committing human rights violations themselves.
IDSA, an autonomous research body funded by the defence ministry, has painted a gloomy picture of the force’s morale “In several instances, while the firing was done by the local police, the blame was passed on to the CRPF. In some cases, when the CRPF wanted to lodge FIRs, they were not lodged while people's FIRs against the CRPF were quite easily lodged,” the study, undertaken after the massive protests in Kashmir in 2010, says.
As per the study, CRPF men posted in Kashmir say the state government is exploiting them while the central government is indifferent to their concerns. The CRPF is the mainstay of law and order in the Valley. The CRPF, whose 326 companies (each company has more than 35 personnel) are deployed in the valley (figures of March 2011), was blamed for a majority of civilian deaths but the study suggests the force might just be a convenient target.
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