Administration, Orders Rs 50 Lakh Compensation
Diplomat Correspondent
New Delhi/Srinagar, (DD): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked a Deputy Superintendent of Police and five other Jammu and Kashmir Police officials for allegedly subjecting Constable Khursheed Ahmad Chohan to brutal custodial torture at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) in Kupwara in February 2023.
The FIR, filed on the Supreme Court’s direction, names DSP Aijaz Ahmad Naiko, Sub-Inspector Riyaz Ahmad, and personnel Jahangir Ahmad, Imtiyaz Ahmad, Mohammad Younis, and Shakir Ahmad. Khursheed, posted in Baramulla, was summoned to Kupwara ostensibly for a narcotics probe but was instead detained and tortured for six days.
According to the complaint filed by his wife, Khursheed was beaten with rods, subjected to electric shocks, had red chili powder inserted in his rectum, and ultimately had his genitalia mutilated. On February 26, his dismembered genitalia were brought to SKIMS Hospital in a plastic bag by a police officer—a detail that stunned even the Supreme Court.
The J&K Police claimed Khursheed had attempted suicide, but the apex court rejected this narrative as “fabricated.” Citing medical evidence, the court stated the injuries were “impossible to be self-inflicted” and pointed to systematic custodial torture, including falanga-style beatings and other signs of prolonged abuse.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta slammed the Jammu and Kashmir High Court for dismissing Khursheed’s plea for a CBI probe, calling it a “gross failure” to protect a citizen’s fundamental rights.
The Supreme Court awarded ₹50 lakh compensation to Khursheed—recoverable from the guilty officers—and ordered departmental proceedings post-investigation. It also directed the CBI to examine systemic issues at the JIC, including CCTV footage, personnel logs, and interrogation protocols.
The case has sparked national outrage, with legal experts and human rights groups calling for urgent police reform and accountability mechanisms in conflict-affected regions like Jammu and Kashmir(DD)
