The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir has sought a compact disc (CD) report from the J&K Police on the death of Makhan Din, 26, who allegedly died by suicide after facing torture in police custody in Kathua’s Billawar area in February this year.
According to the lawyers representing the victim’s father Mohammad Mureed, and the victim’s wife, Juna Begum, High Court Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal has called for a personal appearance by the Station House Officer, also the investigating officer, of Billawar police station.
The victim’s family has moved the court to seek the transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation, “so that the investigation is conducted fairly and independently and in an impartial manner,” the lawyers said.
A video of Din, a tribal, went viral on social media on February 5, 2025, wherein he “explicitly stated that during police custody at Police Station, Billawar, he was brutally tortured throughout the night with a view to compel him to confess his links with the militants” operating in the hills of Billawar, the petitioners said.
“The deceased, after taking the Holy Quran on his head, swore that he was innocent and had no association with the militants, and also stated that because of excessive torture, he did confess his links to subversive activities. Din on camera stated that he was not in a position to face the torture again, and he ended his life after consuming some poisonous substance,” advocate Appu Singh Salathia said.
Kathua police had issued a rebuttal and named Din an over-ground worker.
Apart from a magisterial inquiry, a departmental inquiry was also ordered to be conducted by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Shiv Kumar. The reports from the two inquiries are yet to be submitted.
Advocate Salathia told the court that a case had been registered in the case on February 9, 2025 but “the names of police officials who brutally tortured Din and his father were not mentioned”.
“The action taken report filed by the police station, Billawar, in the court of Sub-Judge (Special Mobile Magistrate), Kathua, gave a clean chit to the accused/suspects involved in the matter,” Mr. Salathia said. “No fair investigation is expected from the police station, Billawar, where brutal torture was inflicted upon Din and his father,” Mr. Salathia said.
Those who require assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline 011-4076 9002 (10 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., Monday-Saturday)
Published – April 17, 2025 09:39 pm IST
