SRINAGAR; 23, April 2013:  Incarcerated patron of Muslim League, Dr Qasim Faktoo has denied the “confessional statement” about his role in the killing of human rights activist H N Wachoo on December 5, 1992 and has alleged that he had made it under “third degree torture”.

In a book entitled ‘Dr Muhammad Qasim—The Victim Of Political Vendetta’ Faktoo has written four pages in a chapter titled “Truth about my confessional statement.”

“On 5th December 1992, N H Wanchoo was killed by unidentified gunmen. Two months later, I along with my wife and infant son were arrested in Srinagar. From Feb 05 to April 05, I was subjected to shameless torture no words can express in the notorious Papa 2 interrogation centre Srinagar,” he writes in the book compiled mainly on court judgments, government orders and an article written by advocate S T Hussian.

“During the interrogation, the interrogators made an effort to implicate me in the HN Wanchoo murder case so that ground could be prepared for prolonging my detention,” he writes, “But (I) resisted continuously for two moths.”

On 5th April 1993, Faktoo writes he was shifted to Sub-jail Rangreth Budgam and on May 17 was asked by the jail officials that he is being hospitalized.

“To my utter surprise, instead of hospital, it was again the same interrogation centre and again same demand, ‘the higher authorities want you be implicated in Wanchoo murder case and therefore you have to sign these papers.”    

Dr Faktoo records that after resisting for a fortnight, he was booked under PSA and shifted to the Sub-jail again on May 28, 1993.

“On 17th June, I was told that my detention lodgement has been changed on humanitarian grounds to Jammu jail where my wife and infant son was lodged,” he writes, adding, “However, the aeroplane carrying me took me to Delhi. At New Delhi airport, after my head was covered under blanket, I was dragged into vehicle and found myself in dark cell….. it was a CBI lockup.”
There, he writes, it was again torture and the same demand.

“This time the third degree interrogation was beyond my resistance when every organ of my body was paining and bleeding.”

“…This is as true as very existence of Almighty Allah. Can this be called confessional statement which is admissible in TADA?”

Faktoo ends the description of his ordeal by asking, “our simple question to all justice loving people is that, How can we get justice now.”