“Victims were batoned mercilessly as if they were threshing corn in that room of hell,” says Poonch eye witness
Jammu turned pale for Lal Hussain, 85, on December 22, when he witnessed thrashing of his three relatives, who were beaten to death after being picked up for questioning by the army.
“It felt like hell. I have never seen or experienced anything like that.
Bahut Zulm Ke Saath Maara Ouen Ko. Everyone in the room was thrashing them with sticks,” reminisces Hussain, adding, “sticks rained as if they were threshing corn.”
Hussain was among the nine locals who were picked up by the army from Topa Pir village of Surankote tehsil in Poonch between 9:30 am to 10:30 am on December 22, a day after four army men were killed and three others injured in an ambush attack by militants in Dera Ki Gali area, around 8 to 10 kms from Topa Pir village. Out of nine ‘detained for questioning and thrashed in custody in Mal Post camp’ Showkat, Safeer and Showkat died.
The injured are being treated at different hospitals in the region.
Hussain’s age came to his rescue as the army men stopped beating him after a few rounds of thrashing. And then he was witness to the worst ever scenes of ‘violence, hatred and torture’ of his life.
“I recognize the room that everyone saw in the videos circulated on social media,” said Hussain. The videos show some uniformed men ‘ruthlessly thrashing some people in custody with batons and putting chilli on their flayed bottoms.’
Hussain says when the sticks broke, “they brought iron water pipes to thrash them. Later they got the handle of a pickaxe and started thrashing again.”
“I have witnessed 1947, 1965 and 1971 wars and countless operations in this area, but I have never witnessed such barbarity and I never felt this hopeless,” said Hussain, adding, “no army can never win by targeting the civilians.”
Hussa
