The family members of three missing persons from border district Kupwara in North Kashmir have 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 Khawaja of 160 Battalion Territorial Army.The accused Army man Manzoor Ahmad was in police custody who was later bailed out while the Army had claimed that investigation will be initiated into the matter, however according to the family members neither police nor Army showed any keenness to trace the missing trio.“The Army man 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 news agency CNS.Manzoor Ahmed Khawaja, working for 160 Battalion of the Territorial Army met 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 the trio a job in Army.
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 person to know the whereabouts of their family heads. However, the Army washed off its hands from the incident, saying it will investigate the matter.On November 28 last year, we approached police and filed a case. Khawaja was soon arrested and investigation was started which brought “no good news” for us so far with Khawaja has already been bailed out,” they said.“We had lot of expectations from the police but they didn’t take the case seriously,” they alleged but added that they are counting on Court now. “Three heads of families have vanished. Over a year has expired and yet the police have failed to trace them,” they said and alleged that the guilty army man was not interrogated at all in police station.SSP Kupwara Shamsher Hussain told CNS that, “the investigation is going on and we are on it,” he said. (CNS)