Rights body seeks report from DGP

Apr 18, 2012 |

Age Correspondent

Srinagar

The Jammu and Kashmir state human rights commission (SHRC) has asked the state police chief to furnish details on the local civilians having been allegedly subject to forced labour by Army in frontier Kupwara district for thirteen years from 1990 following the outbreak of insurgency. This, the commission said on Tuesday, would help it towards proceeding further for providing compensation to the victims.
The direction came during the hearing of a case filed by lone independent member of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Sheikh Abdur Rashid alleging that the Army had forced the civilians, particularly youth of Mawer of his constituency Langeat, into working for it but without being paid for it between 1990 and 2003. The state home department has already asked the DGP to furnish the details on the complaint. The Army had earlier written to the SHRC to provide specific details on the complaint. The commission’s double bench headed by Justice (retired) J.A. Kawoosa on Tuesday directed the DGP to provide specific instances of individuals with names who were engaged as forced labourers by the Army, details of exact duration for which they were working for it and if any wages or compensation was paid in cash or kind. It also asked the state home department and the Union home ministry to submit their reports on the issue or it will proceed without taking that into consideration. MLA Mr Rashid shared what he claimed was evidences of forced labour by Army in Mawer. He alleged, “Even skilled labourers and transporters were forced by Army to work without wages for 13 years, from 1990-2003.” The next hearing of the case has been fixed on May 24. The MLA had filed the case of forced labour by Army before the SHRC in December 2009 following which it got the complaint investigated by police. The report filed ADG police to the commission corroborated the charge following which the complainant sought compensation for the victims.
Mr Rashid had last week alleged that he would move the National Human Rights Commission.

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