Thus when the body – flecked by visible torture marks – of Irshad Ahmad Lone finally arrived in this city neighbourhood, it immediately turned into the epicentre of the mass anger that was already brewing in the streets across Kashmir over the forthcoming death sentence to Afzal Guru next week.
The mysterious nature of this killing has become a major issue – sending shivers down the spine of the parents of thousands of students and professionals who are spread across the country especially as the separatist conglomerate has appealed to all Kashmiris living or studying across the country to return home for safety.
An automobile graduate from Industrial Training Institute here, 26-year-old Irshad Ahmad Lone had done the unthinkable: he had decided to shun his work at the family’s lucrative camping agency, going against his family wishes. On September 21, Lone left for New Delhi to pursue his dream to join Maruti Udyog.
He packed his bags, arranged a folder of his documents, putting the certificate of excellence given to him by a local Maruti franchise for his six months apprenticeship and a valid passport on the top. He asked his friends and acquaintances about Delhi for he had never travelled outside the J&K State. He believed New Delhi was the greener pasture he aspired for and was adamant to make an effort. ``I am qualified and I know I will make a mark. Delhi is big and it will not send me back disappointed,’’ he told his aged father Ali Mohammad Lone as he smiled. ``He (Irshad) had a lot of determination. He wanted to make it on his own. He was stubborn too and he only listened to his heart,’’ Lone recalls. ``He smiled as he gave me and his mother a hug. That was the last hug and I won’t forget that smile’’.
With a few thousand rupees in his pocket and a few references to people to get in touch, Irshad left for Delhi. ``A few days later, he called. He was doing well. He had found a place to stay in Gurgaon near a mosque,’’ his older brother Tariq Ali Lone said. Then he started calling frequently home, giving information about his progress. ``I didn’t get a job in Maruti Udyog but my job application was accepted by a Gurgaon company that manufactures spare parts especially clutches,’’ Irshad told his family. But soon he had a bad news too. ``Two days later, he called and told us that he lost his job because the company didn’t want to hire a Kashmiri’’.
Irshad’s father Ali Mohammad Lone says that this set back had not disillusioned him even as he was very angry. ``He had met a lawyer who had promised help. He was also talking of looking for a job in Saudi’’. Lone said that this worried the family. ``I asked my other son to rush to Delhi and bring him back. We have a very good family business and I thought it is senseless for him to go to Saudi for a job’’.
Thus on Friday (October, 6), Irshad’s brother, Tariq Ali left for Delhi to bring him home. ``I went straight to Qubristan Wali Mosque in Patodi chowk where I knew he goes for prayers during these Ramazan days. I enquired from the Imam, who asked me to wait till the nimaz time as he always shows up,’’ Irshad’s brother Tariq Ali said. But that day Irshad didn’t come for nimaz. For Tariq Ali, the next destination to look for Irshad was Radha Palace hotel opposite Kamala Nehru Park in Gurgoan where Irshad’s lawyer friend Anil Chouhan had an office on the hotel’s third floor. ``He (Chouhan) too didn’t know his latest whereabouts,’’ Ali said.
Exhausted by his search, Ali left for the police station to file a missing person report. ``I thought I should give a call home and suddenly hell broke out,’’ he said. ``Some Assistant Sub Inspector of police named Ramjilal had called our home and told them that they found a critically injured Irshad in a state of coma on the ISBT flyover and he has been admitted in Suchetra Trauma Centre’’.
Ali rushed to the hospital. ``As soon as I entered the hospital, I found my brother lying completely naked over a trolley with only a piece of cotton hiding his private parts. There were torture marks all around his body and his head was broken too. He was literally dead,’’ Ali said. ``ASI Ramjilal was there and he told me Irshad had met with an accident. But when I showed him the torture marks, he didn’t sound interested at all’’. Irshad died the next day.
Though the Delhi Police stresses that they picked up Irshad in a state of coma from the ISBT flyover after they received a call, his family has some serious questions. ``If he (Irshad) was in coma, how did the police get his Srinagar residence phone number? And if he died in an accident, who gave him those visible torture marks? ’’ Ali asks. The family wanted the report of Irshad’s post-mortem, which they say was denied.
The latest Delhi Police statements suggest that a gang in the area might have killed Irshad. But this didn’t sound like the truth to the family; who are unable to understand how a job seeking young man can earn such animosity in a strange city within a fortnight leading to his murder.
Irshad’s death may have been caused by any reason, but in Srinagar, the popular belief is that Irshad was killed after being tortured by Delhi Police who suspect every Kashmiri living in the capital city. And this suspicion has provided a handy opportunity to separatist politicians to make Irshad’s killing into a major political issue, organizing massive protests across Srinagar.
At Irshad’s home, his illiterate mother Taja fails to understand as to how her youthful son can suddenly return in a body bag. ``He (Irshad) will be hungry. It is Iftaar time,’’ she sobs. ``He had promised to return on Eid, why did he come soon. He is my prince – why did they take him away from me? When will I see him again? When?’’ The entire room – jam-packed with women relatives and neighbours - burst into a cacophony of loud shrieks.
Mail the author at muzamiljaleel@yahoo.com/ muzamil.jaleel@expressindia.com
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