Height of barbarism

Athree-year-old boy had to watch his grandfather being murdered by Indian ‘security’ forces in occupied Kashmir. The victim was apparently driving to the market and took the boy along for a ride. Indian security officials allegedly dragged him from his car and killed him, before holding an impromptu photo op with the child, including seating him on his grandfather’s body. The local police claim they were in a gunfight with militants, the deceased was actually shot by a militant, and they were rescuing the child. They even shared pictures and videos of the child, including one where the shocked boy is sobbing through hiccups brought on by the trauma.

No credible witnesses back up the security forces’ version of events. Besides, there is footage of a security official literally standing on the dead body. Under international law, that would be a war crime. In civilised countries, it would be a fireable and possibly arrestable event. In India, this man will probably become an inspector general or a BJP minister within the next few years. The victim’s family has already accused the police of murder, but the cops rubbished their claim by saying they were not there. But one member of the family was there. There is also a video of him online recounting what happened and clearly accusing the police of shooting his grandfather. Unfortunately, the testimony of a three-year-old will not stand up in most courts. Even if it would, no judge with a conscience — meaning one that would dare punish these uniformed terrorists — would traumatise a child by making him relive such a tragedy.

The Indian police know this. There is a chance that this is all a grand conspiracy against the ‘noble’ Indian security forces. A slim one, but a chance nonetheless. So if the Indian forces really wanted to clear their names, they could volunteer to let the bullets in the victim’s body be compared against their weapons. But they won’t. They are liars. They are sadists. They are terrorists. But they are not stupid.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2020.

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