Srinagar: A young man from north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, who was detained by the Army on December 15, has gone missing, prompting his family to stage a protest in Srinagar to demand his whereabouts. The Army has, however, said that the missing person “fled” from their custody.
Abdul Rashid Dar, who drives a mini load-carrier to make a living and also runs a family-owned tent shop, was having dinner at around 8:30 pm last Thursday when a team of Army soldiers from 41 Rashtriya Rifles unit posted in Trehgam knocked at the door of his house in Kunan village of the frontier district of Kupwara.
Shabir Ahmad Dar, Rashid’s elder brother, said that he opened the door to find six to seven dozen soldiers in the courtyard. “One of the soldiers told me that they were looking for Rashid. When I asked what it was about, he replied that it was in connection with some investigation,” Shabir said.
Shabir, who works as a Special Police Officer in J&K Police, told The Wire that the soldiers seemed in a hurry and shouted at him to act fast before barging into the house, “I asked them to remain calm as we were hosting some guests for dinner, but they didn’t listen and repeatedly asked for Rashid,” he said.
Family members tried to pull back Rashid as he was dragged out from one of the rooms in the house by a group of soldiers while the remaining soldiers searched other rooms. “I again asked the soldiers to tell us what he was accused of, but they repeated that it was related to some investigation, and said that he would be home the next morning,” Shabir said.
This story was originally published in thewire.in . Read the full story here
