KHBA demands inquiry into the death of a Kashmiri inmate

Srinagar: Jammu Kashmir High Court Bar Association Srinagar Wednesday expressed grave concern over the death of 70 year old Ghulam Hassan Malik alias Noor Khan, who, died in custody on Tuesday, at Government Medical Hospital, Jammu, a day after he was shifted to Hospital from Kotebalwal Jail, where he was lodged on January 17 this year in pursuance of an order of detention passed against him by District Magistrate.
The Bar Association demanded that an enquiry should be held in the matter to ascertain as to how and under what circumstances the death of deceased took place in the hospital and as to whether the provisions of Detenue General Order 1968, were observed by the jail authorities in the case or not, the Bar said in a statement.
The Bar Association maintained that when a detenue falls ill in jail, he has to be removed to the nearest hospital immediately, having the necessary facilities and equipment and detained there in custody until the termination of treatment and the Superintendent of the Jail has to send the information to the Government as well as to the Controller of Prisons, who is also duty bound to keep the Government promptly informed about the progress of the detenue and in case it is not so done, then the guilty are to be prosecuted for medical negligence resulting in the death of the prisoner and punished according to law.
The Bar Association also condemned the barging into the houses and assaulting the people and damaging their property without any provocation by the army soldiers on Tuesday night at Mashward village of Shopian District, who have approached the police and have urged for the lodging of an FIR against the soldiers, who according to them are habitual of barging into the houses and terrorizing people.
“It has been stated in the FIR that on Tuesday night the Army soldiers barged into their houses and besides assaulting the people and thrashing over a dozen of them who sustained injuries and were hospitalized, the army people also damaged cars and bikes in the village and even the headman of the village was not spared. A youth had dared to ask the army personnel to stop breaking the law but they pounced upon him and hit him with gun buts and jackboots which frightened the other youth and had to rush for safety in the dead of the night.”
The Bar Association as per the statement also termed the grant of 30 days judicial custody and shifting of Asiya Andrabi, Nahida Nasreen and Fahmeeda Sofi to Mandaveli Jail, as unwarranted and unjustified as all the three had been taken from Central Jail Srinagar, where they were lodged in Judicial Custody, under the orders of a competent court at Anantnag, to Delhi and produced before NIA Court, who first handed them over to NIA custody and thereafter to judicial custody, without considering the circumstances under which been brought to Delhi and were no more needed to be detained in the police custody.
“The court ought to have taken the aforesaid aspects of the matter into account more particularly the one that the three were ladies and under the Code of Criminal Procedure were entitled to bail as a matter of right as such should have been released on bail or else shifted back to Central Jail, Srinagar, where they were previously lodged under a proper court order,” reads the statement issued by High Court Bar Association.
Meanwhile, in a condolence meeting held Wednesday, in High Court premises, the Bar members expressed their grief over the sad demise of the youngest sister of Senior Advocate Z. A. Shah, who breathed her last yesterday in a hospital at Srinagar, where she had been admitted for treatment a few days ago and besides showing their solidarity with the bereaved family especially with Z. A. Shah, Senior Advocate, it was prayed to Almighty Allah to rest her soul in peace and give courage and fortitude to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss.