Tufails fathers vents out emotions before Delhi delegation

Srinagar: “My son was murdered in cold blood by police, the government knows the murderers. He wasn’t carrying any stones; he had a five rupee note in his hand when they killed him. Hundreds of young boys like him were massacred while thousands of them have been put behind bars. Is this democracy? It is a shame on democratic India and the people who govern it. Indian policy is to destroy humanity, ours is to defend it,” an emotionally charged Mohammad Ashraf Mattoo thundered as the 11-member delegation from New Delhi that had arrived at his house listened, silently.

“When young boys were getting killed Farooq Abdullah said goli maro Kashmir ko, does he think Kashmir is his (personal) property?” he fumed.  And then without naming the chief minister, continued, “Then they shed crocodile tears by saying ‘Oh! My heart has been broken into 109 pieces. ’”

Ashraf said the family was facing harassment from government agencies to stop them pursuing justice for their teenage son killed by a police teargas shell on June 11 this year.

“Several people from intelligence agencies come to us and ask us to stop pursuing the case. But how can we live unless we get justice,” Ashraf told the 11-member delegation from New Delhi that began its 3-day “fact finding” mission to the Valley by visiting the Matoos this afternoon.

“Ali Mohammad Sagar himself said that the forces are out of control, then this cold-blooded murder takes places. No one from the government has come here, and how could they dare to come? They know the murderers?” Matoo continued.

“India should uphold Nehru’s commitment, it will prosper. Nehru’s soul must be restless, India has trampled his and Gandhi’s principles under it boost,” he said.

The distraught father concluded, “I know the Indian people are not the Indian government, and that they are sympathetic”. To which, one of the members replied, “You have been so generous in distinguishing between people of India and the government of India.”

CPI(M) leader, D Raja assured Matoo that “we feel your pain, that’s why we are here.”