Shopian erupts after another ‘murder’
Muhammad Hussain Zargar, a member of Majlis-e-Mushawarat (MeM), which is spearheading the campaign for justice to Aasiya and Nilofar, was missing since Saturday.
The recovery of another body in Shopian, hours after chief minister Omar Abdullah’s visit to the apple-rich town and promise to “hang” the culprits of the rape and murder of Aasiya and Nilofar, has sent shock waves in south Kashmir.
Muhammad Hussain Zargar, a member of Majlis-e-Mushawarat (MeM), which is spearheading the campaign for justice to Aasiya and Nilofar, was missing since Saturday. His body was recovered from an orchard on Tuesday evening.
The member of MeM’s general council had been at the forefront of the 48-day agitation in Shopian. The town erupted in protest soon after receiving the news of his death. The protesters did not allow doctors at Shopian Hospital to conduct a postmortem, citing alleged goof-up in the autopsies on Aasiya and Nilofar. They were satisfied only when a special team from Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, arrived next morning and completed the procedure in the presence of MeM members.
A team from the forensic science laboratory in Srinagar was also summoned which took samples from the scene of crime and sealed it for investigation. “We guarded the room where the body was kept the entire night. When the GMC team conducted postmortem, our members were present,” MeM vice-president Mohammad Shafi Khan said.
Shopian was shut on Wednesday to protest the mysterious death. Kashmir High Court Bar Association also suspended work. Shafi Khan said kidnap and murder could not be ruled out. “He last called from Fruit Mandi on Saturday afternoon,” he said. SP Shahid Mehraj said there were no bullet marks on Zargar’s body.
Muhammad Hussain Zargar, a member of Majlis-e-Mushawarat (MeM), which is spearheading the campaign for justice to Aasiya and Nilofar, was missing since Saturday. His body was recovered from an orchard on Tuesday evening.
The member of MeM’s general council had been at the forefront of the 48-day agitation in Shopian. The town erupted in protest soon after receiving the news of his death. The protesters did not allow doctors at Shopian Hospital to conduct a postmortem, citing alleged goof-up in the autopsies on Aasiya and Nilofar. They were satisfied only when a special team from Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, arrived next morning and completed the procedure in the presence of MeM members.
A team from the forensic science laboratory in Srinagar was also summoned which took samples from the scene of crime and sealed it for investigation. “We guarded the room where the body was kept the entire night. When the GMC team conducted postmortem, our members were present,” MeM vice-president Mohammad Shafi Khan said.
Shopian was shut on Wednesday to protest the mysterious death. Kashmir High Court Bar Association also suspended work. Shafi Khan said kidnap and murder could not be ruled out. “He last called from Fruit Mandi on Saturday afternoon,” he said. SP Shahid Mehraj said there were no bullet marks on Zargar’s body.