Kashmiri Journalist: He said, "Sir, this is the Man," In the Blink of Eye, Dozen Armed Policemen Surrounded Us

🔖 Fahad Shah

On 30 September 2020, I, along with my photojournalist colleague Bhat Burhan, went to Ludhiana (Punjab) in our own vehicle to do an assignment for the New York-based publication Business Insider. Our assignment was to cover the farmers' protest. In Ludhiana, we stayed in a hotel and went to Moga, Barnala and Khanna villages in Punjab for this story, where farmers were protesting. We also posted photos on social media from the protest sites.

On 03 October, after completing our work in Punjab, we left for Srinagar from Ludhiana in the afternoon in my personal vehicle. I was driving the car myself. We reached Jammu at midnight and stayed in a hotel in Jammu before leaving for our home-Srinagar- the next morning. On 04 October, we resumed our journey at 10 am.

There were frequent traffic jams on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway as the condition of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is very bad and at around 5:30 in the evening we reached Jawahar Tunnel. As we crossed the tunnel, we saw police and paramilitary forces stopping every vehicle coming in. As soon as they spotted our car, they asked me to park my car on the side. A government personnel wearing a black T-shirt with “Commando” written on it asked us to show our identity cards.

As soon as the “Commando” saw my name, he walked up to his officer standing a little distance away. I heard him say to his officer, “Sir, this is the man,” pointing to my identity card. In a flash, a dozen policemen armed with assault rifles surrounded us. 

Fahad Shah is the founder and editor of The Kashmir Walla. He was a recipient of a Human Rights Press Award in 2021.

We were asked to get off the car. The senior officer asked for our phones. The officer asked me to unlock my phone, which I did. The officer dialled a few numbers from his phone to get information. My colleague was not asked to unlock his phone but we were both asked to wait. We were exhausted from the long journey from Punjab to here and were wondering what was going on and why we were being treated like this.

I gathered some courage and asked the senior officer the reason for holding us hostage on the road. He did not answer my question. He kept talking to someone on the phone, probably his senior officer. After half an hour the senior officer asked us to get in our car. We did so. The policemen were still surrounding us. After some time the officer asked us to get down from the car. The senior officer then asked a policeman to bring a police truck and take us to the police station.

We refused to get in the truck. At this a policeman got agitated. “I will drag you like a dog you bastard. Cooperate with us or else I will show you what we can do,” the policeman told me. I told the senior officer that we were not criminals, nor had we broken any law, we would not get in the police truck. The officer then went some distance away and called someone, probably his higher officer.

On returning the officer asked the policeman to drive our car. A policeman took over the steering. I was made to sit on the side seat and my friend was made to sit on the back seat between two policemen. We were scared because no one knew what was happening to us. I started thinking that if we get killed somewhere, no one will even know.

Seeing us worried, the senior officer said, “Don’t worry, I am following you.” We realised that this checkpoint was made only for us because as soon as our car started moving, all the policemen got into their vehicles to follow us.

We reached Qazigund police station and I was asked to go with a policeman who searched my car, asked me to open my luggage and thoroughly searched everything. At the police station, we were made to wait in the police inspector’s office for about 45 minutes. The police inspector was not present.

After the police inspector arrived, the interrogation began. The police inspector asked us questions about our age, family, which school we studied in, when we started working as journalists and where all our work has been published. He offered us water and tea and said that a senior officer was coming to talk to us. I asked him the reason for our detention and interrogation. He said he did not know.

I requested that we be allowed to call our families – who were not aware of our whereabouts – so that they would not be worried about our delay in reaching home. The police chief refused to allow us and asked us to wait until a senior officer arrived.

Around 8 pm, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mohammad Shafi came to the police station and asked the others to leave the room. It was this DSP who had brought us to the police station from the tunnel checkpoint, along with the police chief and the senior officer. The DSP then started asking questions. He also repeated the questions about our age, education, family, etc. The DSP also asked us about our visit to Punjab. We answered every question.

The DSP then asked if we had become journalists without any qualification, which implied that we did not qualify to be journalists. The police officers did not ask any question that would explain the reason for our detention.

The DSP then asked what reporting we had done so far about the situation in Kashmir. He specifically mentioned the Damhal-Hanjipora firing incident in Kulgam, which we – The Kashmir Walla – had reported in May 2020. I said that we had published what had happened and if the police had any problem with our report, they would have issued a denial. But the DSP did not talk further on the issue.

We thought that no one would know about our detention. But somehow some journalist friends in Srinagar came to know. Probably a policeman from the Kotwali told someone about our detention. Immediately the officers who were questioning us started receiving calls from our worried friends and colleagues. None of them had any idea that the officers on the phone were the ones questioning us. We heard the DSP denying that the journalists were being held captive. “No, we have not picked up anyone from the tunnel, but I will check.” The DSP was answering the callers while sitting in front of us.

The police officers saw the videos and photographs in our cameras and asked questions about them. These were photos and videos of protests by farmers in Punjab. After some time, the DSP asked the other officer who was waiting for us at the tunnel and whose name plate was covered by a jacket which of us he wanted to question. The young officer took my name. After a tiring interrogation, we were taken out of the room and the DSP spoke to someone on the phone.

After some time, we were called back into the room and the series of questions began again. This time the DSP said that keeping in mind “national security”, journalists should exercise some “self-restraint” and report “carefully”. I said that we do not report anything other than facts. Referring to a firing incident and the subsequent developments in Srinagar, the DSP said that our reporting is problematic. I said that after that incident in Srinagar, the police had summoned me and even then we had said the same that our work is based on facts.

It was around 9.15 pm when the DSP asked us to bring our phones and identity cards. The police officer wrote a statement stating that my car, phone and other belongings have been returned without any damage. The police officer asked both of us to sign it and we did. He also asked us to sign a register. Then the DSP asked me if there was anyone in Qazigund who knew me so that they could hand us over to him. But we did not know anyone in Qazigund. 

The DSP insisted that they would release us only if someone from Qazigund took responsibility for us in writing. Even at this time our families were unaware of our captivity. I told the DSP that if he let me call a friend, a local person who would take responsibility for us could be arranged.

Finally at 9.30 pm I called a friend who knew someone in Qazigund. The local person was asked to sign our release form and we were made to sign it. After this the DSP said, "We have just helped you, now don't make a drama out of it. This is our duty."

We left the police station at 10 pm. We were very worried while returning home. Since my release, I have tried to find out the reason for our illegal arrest and the way we were treated. We were treated as if we had committed a very heinous crime. But I have not been able to find out the reason yet.

We were illegally detained and we understand that journalists are constantly harassed like this, summoned to the police station, treated like criminals and intimidated, and all because we bring out the facts in reporting. This constant harassment is taking a toll on my mental health and affecting our work at The Kashmir Walla.

We have not broken any law. We have not committed any crime. Journalism is not a crime. Why are we being threatened and harassed like this? I am extremely worried about my colleagues and my safety. (The author is the founder and editor-in-chief of 'The Kashmir Walla')