Srinagar- Among the hundreds of people sitting silently in Srinagars Pratap Park, demanding the whereabouts of their loved ones who have disappeared without a trace since the rise of militancy in Kashmir, one fragile figure stands out.
Like the other members participating in the sit-in protest, Taja Begum, 61, a resident of Potshay Village in Lolab Valley, holds a placard with her frail hands, that reads, Where is my son?.
Tajas son, Abdul Hameed Sheikh, was picked up by the Government forces from Lolab market in the year 2001 and has been missing ever since.
According to Taja, her son was abducted by Special Task Force (STF) a wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police especially meant for Counter Insurgency Operations and 18 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) of Kupwara district.
Abdul Hameed was 25 years old when he disappeared. Not only was he the only son of his aged parents but he was also the lone bread earner of his family.
Taja says that he was returning from a local cement factory in Manzgam area of Lolab valley where he was working when he was picked up by an STF team headed by one Aslam Gujjar.
He would usually return home before Magrib (evening) prayers and would straight away enter my room first. On that fateful day, when he didnt return, I knew something was wrong. A mother can always sense when her children are in pain. What I didnt know was that my beloved son would never return back, says a teary eyed Taja
Since it was the 5th of Ramazan, I consoled myself thinking he must have stopped for prayers on his way home and would return soon. We even waited for him for dinner as the hours passed by and the darkness began to swallow the day, my heart sank. Though my husband kept reassuring me that our son would be fine, my heart was far too restless. It was as if I knew of the tragedy that had befallen us, she says.
The next day Tajas family rushed to the cement factory to look for their son only to be told that he had left the place on time. They looked for him everywhere, at his friends houses, at their relatives but all in vain.
The next day they went to the Lolab police station to file a missing persons report but were surprised when officials there informed them that their son had been detained by STF. Police told us they had some information about Hameed, said Taja.
Taja says, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Kupwara however, assured the family that Hameed would be released after investigation.
I pleaded before the SP not to kill him said Taja. He assured me that no harm would come his way and that he would be back home soon.
After twenty five days, Tajas husband received a letter from his son saying that he was detained in the Intelligence Headquarters at Kupwara and was being interrogated ruthlessly. He had pleaded to his father to save him as he had been beaten almost to death. The letter was smuggled out by a compassionate police driver, according to Taja.
The STF officials told Taja and her husband that they had recovered some shoes from Hameed which they said, were meant for militants. We told them that the shoes that he was carrying were for the family members and not for militants but they refused to listen. We even begged for his release but nothing happened said Taja.
He was taken to Putshay jungle where they asked him to show them the hideout of militants but he wasnt able to as he was innocent. When we came to know that he was taken to the jungle, we rushed there. We saw Aslam Gujjar holding Hameed by his neck and although his face was masked with a black piece of cloth, we recognised him by his trousers she said.
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I tried to approach him but Aslam pushed me and I fell on the ground. He was then taken to Charekoot camp and after that God knows where. Since then we have been running from pillar to post to look for our son but no one will tell us where he is.
Abdul Hameed is survived by a wife and two kids Zakir and Nuzhat. Both me and my husband are old. We have no one to turn to and no one to look after us. We survive on charity and APDP (Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons) also provides food items to us at times. Hameeds wife is now a ‘half widow’ and his two kids are studying at an orphanage in Srinagar, where J&K Yateem Trust is bearing all their costs as we didnt have enough to look after them.
Taja says, she even went to Mufti Sayeed, the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, to know about the whereabouts of her son.
He asked me to go to Director General of Police, who asked me to go to Inspector General of Police. IGs clerk told me there were thousands of disappeared people and when their whereabouts will be revealed, so will my sons she says.
I am waiting for my son past 17 years. Although my heart says he is alive, I fear that I wont live long enough to see his face. I long to hear his voice once again. If they have killed him, the least they can do is to end a mothers worthless wait and tell me the truth, says Taja before breaking down inconsolably
According to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, around 8000-10,000 enforced disappearances are reported in state since 1990. The association has put the number of half widows between 2000-2500.
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