An elderly citizen asks if the justice is really just
Readers’ Forum (Kashmir Times)
Dear Editor,
In a seminar held recently the army stated that out of 1400 complaints registered against the security forces since the last 20 years, only 26 complaints were found to be true. Considering the number of security forces at 7 lakh, the proved cases are less than two per year. The records sound impeccable of sorts. However certain questions like who were the accused, who were the witnesses, who were the prosecutors and judges do arise in a lay man’s mind.
I think the figures suggested are an eye wash more so because the claims contradict army’s own figures given out in the past. It refutes the figures given by another state agency- State Human Rights Commission. These claims also contradict state government’s statements made on the floor of state legislature not to speak of reports by various international agencies. How about the recent findings of thousand graves unmarked and unnamed? Is this complaint included in these investigations?
If the human rights records of our security forces are so brilliant then why do they hesitate to cooperate with civil courts trying to enquire about such cases?
There have been cases of security men killing their own colleagues. Therefore I think that their claims hold no value as they are undertaken as a part of PR exercise. All I can say is ‘Satyamev Jayte’- let the truth prevail!
M.N. Nayeem,69
Rainawari, Srinagar.