‘MY Son Said He Is ‘Dying For Kashmir’, Says Father Of 17-Year-Old In Shopian newsclick.in

The teenager reportedly killed himself to ‘avoid further torture’. He was previously detained twice and beaten up by government forces for not carrying an ID card, say his family members. Tahab region in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district has been witnessing a series of instances of violence and ‘torture’ against young men, say villagers. Last week, 17-year-old Nadeem* reportedly swallowed poison to avoid ‘further torture’ by the armed forces, something which the Army has denied, terming it as “baseless.”

But villagers tell a different story. The 10th grader was reportedly detained twice earlier, prior to the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5. His family said he had suffered grave injuries during his previous detentions and was afraid of the same recurring this time, too. Speaking with NewsClick, Nadeem’s father, who is in his 60s, said: “My son’s last words were that he is “dying for Kashmir”. He also said that grave injustice being done to the state.”