Maqbool Bhat’s younger brother under detention

Maqbool Bhat’s younger brother under detention

Returned from PaK after 18 years

Kupwara, Mar 31: The younger brother of martyr Muhammad Maqbool Bhat was still under detention despite High Court order which quashed his Public Safety Act and granted him bail.
Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, who has been detained at Trehgam police station for days, returned back to valley on February 11 last year on eve of 24th death anniversary of his brother, who was hanged in Tihar.
Police arrested him from his residence at Trehgam.
Zahoor’s family told Greater Kashmir that he has been languishing in police custody without any charge.
“Let them tell us what charges have been framed against our uncle? He has been illegally confined,” said Zahoor’s nephew Parvaiz Ahmed.
Zahoor returned with his wife Aminah and four children Midhat, Noful, Zonoon and Abdullah to Kashmir after 18 years stay in PaK.
His family said that he has been lodged in various jails in the state for past 14 months.
“He was imprisoned and interrogated at Cargo, JIC Humhama for more than a month,” they said, adding PSA was slapped against him on April 21, 2009.
“After the PSA, he was imprisoned at Kotbalwal Jammu where he was confined for nearly 10 months,” they added.
His mother, Shamali Begum, said Zahoor’s PSA was quashed by the High Court on January 25, this year.
“He was released from Kotabalwal jail on February 1 after court order. Before we could receive him, cops whisked him away at the gate. After that he was imprisoned in Jammu for 14 days and was then sent to Kupwara where he is lodged in Trehgam jail without charges,” she said.
According to the family, they approached the civil administration and police in Kupwara but none from the government was cooperating on his release.
Zahoor crossed line of control in 2000.

 http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=1_4_2010&ItemID=71&cat=18