KARACHI: It's been 24 days and 20-year-old Kamlesh Kumar's family still haven't heard from him.
The environmental engineering student went missing when men in a police mobile and a white Toyota Corolla picked him up from the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro.
The police deny arresting Kumar while his family and friends claim that he was taken away by men dressed in plainclothes and a police mobile "He had gone to the university to sit for his last exam," said his brother Sunil. "We were waiting for him to come home as my wedding was supposed to take place on the same day." He added that a couple of hours later, they received a phone call from Kumar's friends who told them what had happened.
Sources claim that Kumar was associated with the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), a banned nationalist party. Kumar belongs to the Menghwar community of Tharparkar. His family resides in a village near Islamkot where his father, Sajan Das, teaches at a government primary school.
"We have appealed to the government and authorities to help. We apologise if he has done anything wrong," said Sajan Das. "Please give us our son or present him in court if there is a case against him." He added that since his son went missing they had not heard from him or received any phone calls asking for ransom.
According to Kumar's friend Hameed Daudpota, they were standing next to the photocopier's shop on November 26 when the incident took place. "It was 11:40am and Kumar had to submit an assignment," he said. "Some people in a police mobile and another car walked towards us and pushed him into their car." He added that a group of students who saw this happen went to inform the administration.
The police, according to Kumar's friends, was reluctant to say anything once MUET's administration rang them up. While Kumar's family denies that he was affiliated with any political party, the university claims that he was active in nationalist politics.
"Kumar's older brother is a student leader at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences and is very active in the Sindhi nationalist movement," said Partab Shivani, a social activist from Thar. "He might be affiliated with the movement and politics but has not attacked, bombed or killed anyone. He was not involved in any criminal activity either."
Who is Kamlesh Kumar?
Kumar is among the few students at the MUET from Tharparkar, an area that has time and again been neglected by the government. He earned admission into the university by securing a top position in his Intermediate examinations from Mirpurkhas. He was always interested in literature and this has compelled many Sindhi poet and intellectuals to come out on the streets and protest for his release.
According to Zulfikar Halepoto, a social activist and writer, the youth of Sindh was being kidnapped, tortured and killed for the last decade. "In a democratic country, everyone has a right to politics," he said. "It is unfortunate that the apex courts and people sitting in power have decided to remain quiet even though two dozen nationalists have been killed in the last 11 months."
DIG Hyderabad Sanaullah Abbasi claims to have looked into Kumar's case personally and has said that the police did not take him into custody.
The chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that these incidents could push the country's youth to pick up guns against the state.
What's happening now
The family has filed a petition in the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad and has also expressed dismay over the response of their locally elected representatives who failed to raise the issue during the last Sindh Assembly session. Pakistan Peoples Party's MPA Dr Khatumal Jeevan said that he had raised the issue before the chief minister. He added that Kumar was the secretary general of the JSMM's MUET unit.
"The chief minister has written to federal interior ministry," he said. "A committee has also been formed under the supervision of the home secretary to look into the incident."
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2014.
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