By Gafira Qadir
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – Makhan Din stands inside an empty mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Kathua district to record his last video message on a mobile phone.
Wearing a skullcap and a blue-and-white sports jacket, the bearded 25-year-old says he is about to “sacrifice” his life so that no one else in the region is subjected to “torture” by the police, who suspected him of “being associated with militants”, the term authorities use for rebels fighting against the Indian rule.
In the middle of the grainy four-minute video recorded on February 5, Din is seen picking a copy of the Quran from a shelf at his back and putting it on his head to pledge he had “never seen” any rebels as he recounts the horrors he endured in police custody the night before. He then places the holy book back, his lips constantly praying to God.
“I will die so that other people will be saved after me. Oh Allah, accept my sacrifice. Keep my family happy, always, Oh Allah. Save me from the punishment of the grave … You watch everything … Send angels to take my soul from inside the mosque. Please forgive me,” he says as he switches off the phone camera.
In a statement on February 7, police claimed Din had a “number of suspicious contacts in Pakistan and other foreign countries”, and denied he was tortured in custody or had any injury on his body. “He was questioned and then got exposed, went home, and committed suicide,” it said. The Jammu district administration is investigating Din’s death by suicide and allegations of torture.
This story was originally published in aljazeera.com. Read the full story here.
