The family members of three missing persons from border district Kupwara Monday alleged that police have ‘miserably failed’ to trace Ghulam Jeelani Khatana, Mir Hussain Khatana and Ali Muhammad Sheikh of Dardpora Kralgund who are missing since November 17, 2015 after they were taken along by Manzoor Ahmad Khoja of 160 Battalion Territorial Army.
The accused Army soldier Manzoor Ahmad is in police remand till January 24. Since November 2014 police have sought multiple remands from the local court.The Army soldier Manzoor took away my husband, our lone bread earner. Why can’t police make him speak truth,” Jana Begum the wife of one of the missing person Ghulam Jeelani Khatana told CNS.
Last year in November, Manzoor Ahmed Khawaja, soldier of 160 Battalion of the Territorial Army met with three men- Ghulam Jeelani Khatana, Mir Hussain Khatana and Ali Muhammad Sheikh in Kupwara.
The trio were known to him. Khawaja according to family members had promised to come with a job offer for them. When they didn’t return home that evening, anguished families tried to reach them on mobile phones, but in vain. After a week-long wait, the families grew suspicious and approached the Army unit of the accused soldier to know the whereabouts of their family heads. However, the Army washed off its hands from the incident. On November 28 last year, they approached police a filed a case. Khawaja was soon arrested and investigation were started which has brought no good news for the families so far with Khawaj behind bars in Srinagar central Jail.
Khurshid Ahmed the brother of another missing person said that they have lost all hopes and they don’t know whether they do exist on planet or not. “We had lot of expectations from the police but they didn’t take the case seriously,” he alleged but added that they are counting on Court now. “Three heads of families have vanished. Two months have expired and yet the police have failed to trace them,” he said and alleged that the guilty soldier was not interrogated at all in police station.SSP Kupwara Ajaz Ahmed told CNS that there is no breakthrough the case. “The investigation is going on and we are on it,” he said. (CNS)