Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 04— Inside a dimly lit room with scruffy walls, Zamrooda sobs quietly while counting cash for the travel to Agra jail. For the last few days, she has been seeking help from the people to visit her 22-year-old son Asif Ahmad Khushoo.
“I and my husband met our son once for 20 minutes at Agra Jail in October last year. The travel and accommodation cost us Rs 20,000. Since then we did not meet him because we don’t have money for travel,” said Zamrooda as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Asif Ahmad Khushoo, 22, was arrested on August 5 when Centre abrogated Article 370 and downgraded the state into two union territories. Asif, who was a street vendor selling shoes, has been booked under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). A class VIII dropout, he was also arrested in 2016 on charges of stone pelting.
“When we approached the local police station we were told that Asif has been sent to Central Jail. Later we came to know that he has been shifted to Agra Jail,” she said.
Last month, a Srinagar resident whose relative is also lodged at Agra Jail, met Asif’s family informing them that their son was in dire need of warm clothes and blankets. “He (Asif) told him that he was short of money. He also asked for blanket and warm clothes,” she said.
Zamrooda and her husband Mushtaq. Their 22-year-old son Asif Ahmad Khushoo was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019.
Asif’s father Mushtaq, 48, said his son was arrested during 2016 unrest but released later. “Since then he has been busy earning his livelihood. Despite not being involved in stone pelting this time round, he was arrested,” he said.
A few kilometers away from Asif’s house, family of 22-year-old Momin Nazir is unable to understand why his breadwinner son was arrested on August 6.
“His arrest has shattered our family. Momin’s mother is very unwell. She is always inquiring when he will be released,” said Nazir Ahmad, Momin’s father.
Kashmir has been simmering after the abrogation of article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two union territories – Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. Official figures reveal that more than 5161 people including stone pelters, miscreants and politicians were arrested since the abrogation of Article 370.
