School teacher, arrested in terror case, dies in custody in Jammu and Kashmir
Srinagar: A 28-year-old school teacher, who was arrested in connection with a terror case, died in police custody here, triggering protests at his town in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Tuesday, police said.
The state government has ordered a magisterial inquiry to ascertain the cause and circumstances that led to Rizwan Pandit's death, they said.
Pandit a resident of Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, died during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, a senior police officer said.
He was a teacher at a private school and was picked up by security agencies three days ago in connection with a terror case, the officer said.
The civil administration, following a request by the police department, has ordered a magisterial inquiry under Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to ascertain the cause and circumstances leading to Pandit's death, the officer said.
The CrPC section pertains to inquiry by a magistrate into cause of death, including when any person dies while in the custody of police. A police spokesman said a separate investigation has also been ordered into the incident.
In Awantipora, clashes broke out as soon as news of Pandit's death reached, police officials said. They said angry protestors pelted stones at law enforcing personnel, who fired tear gas shells to bring the situation under control.
The clashes between the protestors and security personnel were going on when reports last came in, the officials said, adding that no casualty has been reported.
The teacher's death in police custody was condemned by several politicians who demanded a time-bound probe into the matter and punishment to the guilty.
"I had hoped custodial deaths were a thing of our dark past. This is an unacceptable development & must be investigated in a transparent, time bound manner.
"Exemplary punishment must be handed out to the killers of this young man," National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah tweeted.
He also hit out at the previous PDP-BJP coalition government in the state and the Centre for the present situation.
"Midnight raids, crackdowns, rampant arrests, custodial murders, denial of democratic right to choose a government. Kashmir continues to suffer the fallout of the disastrous PDP-BJP alliance and from the Modi government's muscular approach to J&K," the NC leader said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also hit out at the Centre saying its "repressive approach" has left young educated men vulnerable.
"Innocent men hauled up from their homes for interrogation return home only in coffins now. GoI's repressive approach leaves young educated men vulnerable who are forced to take up arms. Stop using Kashmir to exhibit your sick chauvinistic nationalism. We have suffered enough," she said.
PDP leader Naeem Akhtar asked Governor Satya Pal Malik's administration to come clean on the incident.
"Disturbing reports of custodial death of youth from Awantipora in Srinagar's Cargo Camp. As per media he was picked up by NIA few days ago & was lodged in CARGO camp of (SOG). @jandkgovernor administration should come clean on this," Akhtar, a former minister, tweeted.
People's Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone also condemned the custodial death.
"Condemn in strongest terms the death in police custody in Srinagar. This is what the sanctity of human life has been reduced to in Kashmir. My thoughts are with the family of the deceased," he said.
CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, former PDP leader Altaf Bukhari and ex-IAS officer Shah Faesal have also condemned the custodial death of the teacher.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
