Latest news with #Riyaz
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Time of India
B'day pics no proof ‘gangster' asked bizman to pay bill: Court
Mumbai: Observing that availability of 31 photographs of a birthday party is not even prima facie proof of any of the offences, a special court recently discharged alleged gangster Riyaz Bhati in an extortion case . In a chargesheet submitted against gangster Chhota Shakeel 's brother-in-law Salim Qureshi, alias Salim Fruit, his aide Bhati, and others in an extortion case, the police alleged the conspiracy to target the victim, a businessman , was hatched by the accused at Bhati's birthday party in Feb 2021 at a suburban five-star judge, however, said all statements of witnesses allegedly present at the birthday party, as referred to by the prosecution, are hearsay of sorts. "Even CDRs (call data records) of contacts between the accused inter-se is not incriminating material against the accused to frame the charges... The statement of a friend of the complainant (businessman) who was demanded money from the accused towards the bill of the birthday party and to whom the accused threatened for money (sic), is also not helpful to the prosecution," the judge said. The judge further said it is an afterthought. "Neither that friend of the complainant nor the complainant himself complained anywhere against accused Riyaz for such threatening or demand of money towards payment of the bill," the judge case stems from an FIR filed on Sept 26, 2022, accusing Riyaz of extorting money for expenses of a birthday party held in Feb 2021. Seeking discharge, Riyaz's lawyer submitted there is no prima facie case made out against him. "There is no material directly or indirectly on record against him. There is no nexus with the alleged crime... He is innocent. He is falsely implicated. There is no evidence in the entire chargesheet that he is a member of any organised crime syndicate or he acted on behalf of any organisation... (or) that he abetted any accused," the lawyer prosecution stated Riyaz is named in FIR for threatening the complainant. "The applicant allegedly instructed the complainant to organise their birthday party at Hotel Sahara Star... on February 19, 2021. A statement from the complainant's friend, who arranged the party, has been recorded, and the party's bill receipt of Rs 5.43 lakh has been collected. The FIR indicates that Salim Qureshi (accused) threatened the complainant for Rs 62 lakh and this accused also issued threats," the prosecution said.
Al Bawaba
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Nuclear standoff looms over Kashmir amid India-Pakistan escalation
ALBAWABA – Tensions escalate along the India-Pakistan border as both sides prepare militarily, while Kashmir residents ready shelters fearing renewed conflict. Also Read Israel denies British MP entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque Residents of Kashmir who live close to the Line of Control (LoC) are making preparations for the worst possible outcome, cleaning and strengthening subterranean bunkers in preparation for the possibility of armed conflict. This is taking place in the midst of rising tensions between India and Pakistan. Families in the Pakistani village of Chakothi, which is located just three kilometers away from the highly guarded border, are preparing themselves for fresh hostilities as the two nuclear-armed foes trade threats. A tragic incident that occurred earlier this month has resulted in a deterioration of diplomatic ties, which has led to the deportation of individuals and an increase in the level of military anticipation. The agony of previous conflicts was brought to mind by Riyaz Awan, a native of the area, who emphasized the critical need to safeguard the next generation. According to what he said to the media, "We do not want our children to go through what we went through." The valleys and hills of Kashmir are home to thousands of Indian and Pakistani troops who are stationed in close proximity to one another, with the distance between them often being as little as 10 meters. Immediately after the outbreak of unrest in 2017, Riyaz and his cousin Shabbir Awan made significant investments in order to construct a temporary subterranean bunker. At this time, their concrete bunker, which is around 13 square meters in size, serves as an essential sanctuary. Indian army patrols on way to Hapatnar in Anantnag district south of Kashmir on April 29, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) According to civilians, there are nightly exchanges of gunfire across the line of control as military action becomes more intense. According to the Indian government, cases of crossfire have been recognized, but Pakistan has maintained its silence. During this time, security forces in Kashmir, which is governed by India, are using mass arrests and house demolitions in an effort to target individuals suspected of being terrorists. Fears were voiced by Saleema Bibi, a mother of four, over the conflict that has resumed. A great number of families will cram themselves into simple bunkers that are covered with mats or improvised mud walls since they do not have access to hardened shelters. Naseema, another inhabitant, successfully secured a spot for herself in a common shelter that was previously reserved for seven or more families. By stating, "It will be very difficult to survive in one shelter," she brought attention to the fact that there were not enough resources to protect both her family and her cattle. BREAKING:Fighting breaks out between Indian and Pakistani forces in the Pargwal-Akhnoor sector of Jammu and not located along the Line of Control, but on the international border between India and Pakistan. 🇮🇳🇵🇰
Al Jazeera
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Wave of Kashmir disappearances, mystery deaths spook tribal community
Kulgam, Indian-administered Kashmir — When Showkat Ahmad's body was found, it had sores and a bloodied eye. His hair was falling out, and the skin on the 18-year-old's hands and legs was peeling off, recalled his father, Mohamad Sadiq. That was March 16, three days after Sadiq had learned that his elder son, Riyaz, 25, had also died, a month after the two young men had disappeared. According to the official verdict of law enforcement officials, Showkat and Riyaz drowned in a canal in the Kulgam region of Indian-administered Kashmir, about 10km (6 miles) from their homes. Their postmortem reports point to potential suicide. But Sadiq — and many in the Gujjar tribal community the family belongs to — refuse to believe that narrative. Sadiq conceded that he is not sure who is responsible for the disappearance and death of his sons — whether it was security agencies or an armed group. Yet, whoever it was, Sadiq said he is convinced there was foul play involved. 'This wasn't an accident,' the 72-year-old father screamed, his voice cracking with anguish as he spoke to Al Jazeera outside his home, in an open grazing ground, where his relatives and family members had gathered to offer him support. 'They were tortured and killed.' Even as the government denies those accusations, the disbelief over its narrative captures the deep distrust of law enforcement officials in a region shaken by a spate of recent disappearances — with dead bodies turning up weeks later. Mukhtar Ahmad Awan, a 24-year-old man who also disappeared along with Riyaz and Showkat, has still not been found. That lack of belief in the government is accentuated by Kashmir's history. Since the start of an armed revolt against India in 1989, between 8,000 and 10,000 Kashmiris have disappeared, according to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a collective of relatives of victims of enforced disappearances in Kashmir. 'My sons were brutally murdered,' Sadiq insisted. In the quiet grazing grounds of Chandarkoot, about 68km (39 miles) from Srinagar, the biggest city in Kashmir, a hilly landscape covered with walnut and willow trees shelters flocks of sheep belonging to the local Gujjar community. On February 13, Riyaz, Showkat and Mukhtar left the nearby village of Qazigund to attend a wedding in the nearby Ashmuji area of Kulgam district. They never reached the venue. Sadiq tried calling his sons on their mobile phones at about 6:10pm, he said. But the phones were switched off. 'We desperately searched for them near the function venue, in Kulgam, and all the places we could think of,' he said. At 7pm, the family alerted the police. When the youths still had not returned by the next morning, they filed a complaint about them being missing with the police. For a month, police, the army and local rescue teams searched for them, but could not find anyone. Then, on March 13, Sadiq's phone rang. The searchers had found Riyaz's body in a canal. Three days later, Showkat's body also turned up in the same canal. Forensic expert Azia Manzoor Bhat, who examined Riyaz's body at District Hospital Kulgam during the postmortem, told reporters that the body was in an 'advanced stage of putrefaction'. His examination, Bhat said, suggested that Riyaz died of drowning and gave no indication of homicide — instead indicating possible death by suicide. Showkat too died of drowning, according to authorities. But protests have broken out over the deaths, which have ballooned into a political controversy. Sadiq and his family protested on the national highway that connects Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, to Jammu, the winter capital, demanding an inquiry. A video purportedly showing a police officer kicking a female protester on the national highway went viral. Meanwhile, in Jammu district, approximately 198km (123 miles) away from the site of the protest, police arrested student leaders from the Kashmiri Gujjar community as they protested against the Kulgam deaths. The police have announced an internal investigation into the accusations of an officer kicking a protester. In the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, leaders from the governing National Conference and opposition parties, including the Congress, Peoples Democratic Party and People's Conference, demanded action against the police personnel involved in the kicking incident. There has been no official statement from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the kicking incident, nor on the disappearances and deaths. To Sadiq and others demanding an investigation, the deaths of Riyaz and Showkat, and Mukhtar's disappearance, follow an increasingly worrying pattern. In Kathua district, neighbouring Kulgam, two young men, Yogesh Singh, aged 32, and Darshan Singh, 40, and 15-year-old Varun Singh went missing on March 5 while returning from a wedding. Their bodies were recovered from a canal three days later. Days later, two other teenagers — Mohammad Din and Rehman Ali — went missing in Kathua. They are yet to be found almost a month later. They are Muslim, the three men who disappeared before them were Hindu — all bound by tragedy. But fear of the government and security forces runs particularly deep in the Gujjar community, following a series of killings and unnatural deaths in recent years. The community, along with an ethnic subgroup known as the Bakarwals, constitutes about 8 percent of the population of Jammu and Kashmir, according to India's last census in 2011, though some community representatives argue that their numbers are underrepresented because of their nomadic lifestyle. In 2020, an Indian army officer allegedly abducted and killed three young Gujjar men in Rajouri district. The police filed a chargesheet against the officer, accusing him of abducting and killing the three labourers in a staged encounter. A court martial held the officer guilty and recommended life imprisonment. But in November 2023, an Armed Forces Tribunal suspended the sentence and granted bail to the officer, while the case continues to be heard. Three years later, in December 2023, following an attack by armed fighters on army vehicles in Poonch district's Topa Pir village, security forces detained many locals for interrogation. Subsequent videos surfaced showing officers beating civilians and applying chilli powder to their wounds. Three Gujjar men — Mohammad Showkat (22), Safeer Hussain (45), and Shabir Ahmad (32) — died in custody, with their bodies displaying signs of severe torture. Then, starting in December 2024, 17 people from the community died under mysterious circumstances in a little over a month. The victims, including 13 minors, exhibited symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain before their deaths. Investigations ruled out viral or bacterial infections, with preliminary findings suggesting neurotoxins as the likely cause. Despite extensive testing, the exact toxin and its source remain unidentified, leaving the community in fear and seeking answers. In February 2025, a 25-year-old Gujjar man, Makhan Din, recorded a video explaining why he was about to kill himself — detailing alleged torture at the hands of security forces. Din, who died by suicide, was questioned over suspicious Pakistani contacts — and was not tortured — the police claimed. That is not a story many Kashmiri Gujjars believe. 'Our people disappear, and we are told to stay quiet,' said Abid Awan, an 18-year-old neighbour of Sadiq in Kulgam. 'We live in fear, knowing that our voices are ignored, and our suffering is dismissed. It feels like we don't exist to those in power.' Chandi Awan's frail hands trembled as the 80-year-old father of Mukhtar, the missing 24-year-old in Kulgam, clutched his walking stick. 'Mukhtar was the light of my eyes. Without him, my world has fallen into darkness,' Awan said, surrounded by grieving relatives, as he sat outside his house, approximately 12km (7.5 miles) from Sadiq's home. 'The pain is unbearable – it feels as though I am waiting for death.' Mohammad Jeelani Awan, Mukhtar's brother, said the government's explanation for the deaths of Showkat and Riyaz does not make sense. 'Their belongings, including cards, mobile phones, and cash, were dry. How is this possible?' he said. Every night, as he tries to sleep, all he sees is his brother's face, he said. 'The smile that once lit up our home, the dreams he had. It's hard to believe he's gone, taken from us in such an unforgiving way. I can't help but feel I failed him, that I couldn't protect him,' said Jeelani, letting out a scream. 'I wish there was a way to turn back time, to give him the life he deserved.' The families say they will continue to seek justice. 'We will not let this go, and demand a fair and independent probe,' said 65-year-old Ghulam Nabi, uncle of Showkat and Riyaz. Meanwhile, Riyaz's wife, Najma Begum, sat quietly in a corner of her one-storey house, her face pale, eyes swollen from the tears. In one hand she clutched a handkerchief, and in the other a photograph of her husband. Silent sobs shook her body as she stared at the photograph, then hugged her eight-year-old daughter. 'All we want is justice, nothing more, nothing less. If the law truly exists, we will get justice,' she cried. 'They have killed him. They have killed my Riyaz.'
