‘Government approached me two years ago to withdraw the case’
Srinagar: On the eve of fourth death anniversary of slain Old City teenager, Tufail Ashraf Matto, his father on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of ‘shielding killers’ of his son and claimed he was approached by government to withdraw the case couple of years ago.
Talking to GNS, Muhammad Ashraf Matto said: “Chief Minister, his ministers and police knew who killed Tufail Matto but they are shielding them. From the day one, they tried to cover up the case and they are shielding some police officers.”
Seventeen year old Tufail Matto, who hailed from Saida Kadal locality, was killed after a teargas shell, which was allegedly fired by police, hit his head on 11 June 2010 at Gani Memorial Stadium in Rajouri Kadal. The killing of Tufail followed deadly mass uprising in Kashmir for four months in which 120 people mostly teenagers were killed in government forces action.
The father of slain Tufail, while questioning state government, said: “What was the crime of Tufail. He had gone to seek knowledge and was that his crime?”
Ashraf, who is a business man by profession, claimed that he was approached by state government via his uncle to withdraw the case. “They came in touch with my uncle two years back who was residing in Barazulla, My Uncle was contacted by chief minister. He was taken to his office and was asked to convey to me to withdraw the case and be silent,” he claimed.
“They asked him to convey me to remain silent. They told him that nothing would happen and whatever he (I) need including money would be provided but one thing is he (I) would not get anything in return. So withdraw the case,” the slain teenager’s father told GNS.
“In return,” he said, “I told by uncle that I can’t do it. You know what they have done to me. I rejected right away. Then they did not contact me.”
Ashraf said he wants justice and he would continue his fight for it. “The moment I received my martyred son’s body I took oath that I will never stop,” he said.
Blaming Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for the killings of 2010, he said: “In 2010, they watched like mute spectators and sponsored killings. They closed their eyes, their ears and their tongues. But once they got humiliating defeat in elections, they started to crumble. It proves this government and CM has nothing to do with humanity. Now that his rival gave him humiliated defeat, he started to dance and admitted that the hanging of marty Afzal Guru was wrong, the killings of June 2010.”
“He is once again trying to befool people and is playing political and election gimmicks,” Ashraf said.
“Omar is raising voice that I will do this and that but what happened to the enquiry commissions? Omar Qayoom’s father and his sister recently went to meet him but what happened there is disgraceful on CM’s part. He is not a human,” he remarked.
“Which place they left. They spilled blood of innocents in grounds, on roads and everywhere,” the father of slain teenager alleged.