By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Kolkata: When the nights were shining as bright as day during this past Durgapuja in West Bengal, the night in a cell at Presidency Jail in the state capital was darker than usual. Undertrial Sheikh Farhat Mehmood was made to be naked and tortured brutally on 14th October – that was ‘Saptami’, the seventh day of 10-day Durgapuja celebrations.
The 30-year-old Kashmiri youth Mahmood was arrested in 2003 from Srinagar by Kolkata Police in connection with an abandoned truck laden with ammunition. Kolkata West Port Police Station seized a truck wherein were at least 25 round bullets and other ammunition. In the course of investigation allegedly Mehmood’s name came up and he was picked from Kashmir.
But what happened in the night of 14th October inside the Presidency Jail? A Bengali daily has reported the incident extensively.
The whole night on Saptami, people outside the Presidency Jail boundary were making night day as they were enjoying and celebrating the Puja, but at the same time inside a dark narrow cell Mehmood was lying totally naked. He was brutally tortured.
CCTV cameras are installed at the Presidency Jail. The official cameras have captured the unofficial gruesome act of junior jail employees. It is reported that some of his well wishers managed to get the CCTV footage and sent to his home in Kashmir. Mahmood’s brother Sheikh Wajahat disclosed it to newsmen. But what was Mehmood’s guilt?
Mehmood had protested against the unhygienic food in the prison and demanded the basic rights in accordance with the jail manuals. Mehmood observed two days hunger strike in jail. In retaliation, allegedly Jail workers beat him brutally and senior officers in the jail department were kept in dark about the episode. But why? Additional DG (Prison) Mr B.D Sharma and Presidency Jail Superintendent Biplab Das had no answer to the query. Mr Sharma, however, assured he will look into the matter through the investigation.
Mehmood, a resident of Iqbalabad of Bemina area of Srinagar, has been lodged in the Presidency Jail since July 2005. He comes from a good family. His father Sheikh Gulam Nabi was ex Govt employee, two brothers are Doctor and Professor. So, his family cannot think as to how their son can be involved in such crime. Mr Nabi has also accused the jail warden and jail officer of demanding bribe, sometimes three thousand or five thousand rupees to keep his son well. But they did not.
The family has sought help from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association with regard to their demand for shifting Mehmood to a Srinagar jail. Mehmood’s brother, Sheikh Wajahat has approached the HCBA and is awaiting a response from it, he told the newsmen.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir government has said it would look into the case of the alleged torture of an undertrial Kashmiri youth in the Kolkata Presidency Jail. Principal Secretary, Home Department, BR Sharma said, “We will certainly look into the issue and seek a report in this regard. I haven’t yet seen the news reports with regard to this case. But once we examine them, we shall definitely inquire it.”
Some social organization has complained to the Human rights Commission about this incident. Home Secretary of West Bengal Mr G.D Gautama has sought report from the Presidency Jail authorities.