Civilian “tortured” in Poonch speaks: “I’m in the video… They rubbed chili powder on our wounds”

Mohamed Ashraf (52 years old) said from his hospital bed that security forces arrested him and four others last week, and then “they took off our clothes, beat us with lathes and iron rods, and rubbed our wounds with chili powder.”

Civilians were then allegedly selected Four army soldiers were killed In an ambush by gunmen in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday. Three civilians were allegedly killed during interrogation, and five, including Ashraf, were admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Rajouri on Saturday.

“I am the person in the video that went viral showing a man being beaten with iron rods and lathis by army personnel,” Ashraf told The Indian Express, referring to a video that was widely circulated on social media.

He added that he had not been able to sleep since last Saturday due to the shock. “Who can sleep when you feel intense pain all over your body, and thoughts of torture haunt your mind when you close your eyes?” He said.

From Haspalot village in Thanamandi district of Rajouri district, Ashraf worked as a lineman with the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department since 2007, earning a salary of Rs 9,330 per month. He thus supports his three children – an 18-year-old daughter and two sons, aged 15 and 10. His wife died on March 23 of this year.

The other four who were admitted to Rajouri Hospital along with Ashraf are Farooq Ahmed, 45, and Fazal Hussain, 50, as well as Hussain’s two nephews Mohammad Betab, 25, and another 15-year-old, all from Thanamandi district.

A doctor at the hospital said that all five suffered from “soft tissue injuries” but did not provide further details.

Ashraf said that none of them could stand or even sit properly. “They (hospital staff) take us in wheelchairs or stretchers when we have to be taken for tests or to go to the toilet,” he said.

He claimed that security forces arrested him from his home at around 9.30am on Friday. “They took me to Manil Gali near DKG (Dehra Ki Gali) where their colleagues were already sitting with Farooq Ahmed in the Tata Sumo. After some time, Muhammad Betab and his brother were also brought and they took us all to their camp at DKG.”

He added: “After we got there, at 10:30 in the morning, they turned off our mobile phones and started beating us with lathes and iron bars without saying anything.” “After some time, they took off our clothes and again started beating us with lathes and iron rods, and rubbing our wounds with chili powder until we lost consciousness.”

The 15-year-old girl, who is studying in Class 10, is admitted to the same room at Rajouri Hospital. He claimed that during interrogation, security personnel asked him whether he had provided food to the militants and referred to a feast held at his home eight days before the armed attack.

He said: “I told them that the holiday had been organized for my brother Beitab’s marriage.” He claimed that he and the others were beaten after these questions.

Bitab, a laborer who used to work in Kashmir, returned home nearly two months ago to attend his wedding, which was held on December 15.

“I was planning to stay home with my wife for about a month before returning to work in Kashmir,” he said.

He also claimed to have been beaten: “There was no skin left on my upper body.”

He said a group of police arrested him along with his brother and uncle Fazal Hossain from their home in Thanamandi on Thursday evening, just hours after the armed attack. He added that the police allowed them to return home after three hours and asked them to report to Thanamandi police station the next day.

However, on their way to the police station on Friday morning, “military personnel called us on our mobile phone and asked to visit them first in Manil Gali. There, they took us to a car and took us to their location in DKG Top,” Betab said.

The army officer denied any knowledge of the five men who were admitted to Rajouri Hospital.