No protest over murder of women by Hizb men

No Shopian-type protest over murder of women by Hizb militants

PTI
June 23, 2009

Srinagar In the uproar following the Shopian rape and murders, two separate brutal killings of women by militants in Jammu and Kashmir have almost gone unnoticed.

While the first case was that of 17-year-old Nigeen Awan which took place barely few kilometres away from the place in Shopian of South Kashmir which is witnessing protests over the alleged rape and murder of two women, the second took place at Sopore where the 45-year-old lady Rashma Jan was shot dead because her daughter and son-in-law worked with police force.

But these two deaths -- barbaric in their own way -- have gone little noticed. Police reasons that its because of the fear as these gruesome killings were undertaken by militants of prominent terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, armed wing of Jamaat-e-Islamia.

According to the police files, Awan was allegedly killed by Latif Theuuda along with Riaz of Hizbul Mujahideen at her residence on the intervening night of June two and three because she had spurned advances by the former.

Quoting eye-witnesses, the police alleged that Latif pumped over a dozen bullets into her at her residence in Dohnado in Shopian district and instructed that no one to take her to hospital.

The young girl died in front of her family members and villagers after struggling for 45 minutes.

Ironically, in the FIR 109/07 registered in police station Keller, police have quoted unnamed eye witnesses who refused to come on record because of the fear of gun except her father Sharief Ahmed Awan who told the police that he was "instructed" by the duo to bury the body and not to make any hue and cry.

While the Jamaat cadres in the Shopian district spread the word that Awan was working for police, senior officials brushed aside the charge saying that the victim had not even attained the age of 18 years which is mandatory for working as Special Police Officer .

Another killing by Hizbul Mujahideen militant was that of Rashma Jan on June 16 at Sopore in North Kashmir. This area is a Jamaat-e-Islamia stronghold and pro-Pakistan leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani also hails from here.

The 45-year-old Jan, work ing as an employee of UCO Bank, met her death when terrorists barged into her house at Sopore on June 16 and fired indiscriminately. She died on her way to hospital as she had received bullets in her head and chest.

She was allegedly killed by Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Basharat, who had nurtured a grudge against her because she had a fight with his mother over marriage of her daughter.

The daughter -- Shameema, a police constable – was married off to a Policeman and at present posted in Baramulla.

When approached, neither leaders of the ruling coalition of National Conference and Congress nor the opposition PDP are willing to comment about the two incidents and are even refraining from saying on record that culprits need to be brought to book.

..another report published in Hindustan Times.

Arjun Sharma, Hindustan Times
Srinagar, June 24, 2009

Amid protests over the Shopian rape-cum-murder case, two separate killings of women by militants in Jammu and Kashmir have almost gone unnoticed.

While the first case was that of 17-year-old Nigeen Awan, which took place barely few kilometres away from Shopian, the second took place in Sopore where the 45-year-old Rashma Jan was shot dead on a doubt that she was a police informer.

Superintend of Police, Baramullah, Viplav Kumar said: “The members Hizb-ul Mujahideen entered the house of Rashma Jan on the intervening night of June 2 and June 3 and gunned her down. The militants have been identified as Basharat, Latif and Riaz.”

But these two deaths have gone little noticed.

Police reason that it is because of the fear as these gruesome killings were undertaken by militants of Hizb-ul Mujahideen.