After teacher’s custodial death, ‘friend’ joins militancy

I have no other choice. I wanted to live and take care of you (family) but it is better to die than live a life where ones honour and life is not safe SHAHID MANZOOR , Hizbul militant

SRINAGAR : Days after the custodial death of 29-year-old private school teacher Rizwan Pandit in south Kashmir’s Awantipora, his purported friend Shahid Manzoor has reportedly joined militancy.

Rizwan Pandit, who was arrested on Sunday in connection with a “terror case”, died in police custody on Tuesday, triggering outrage and protests in the Valley. A police spokesman said Pandit had been in custody in “pursuance of a terror case investigation” when he died. Pandit’s family alleged it was a “cold-blooded murder”.

They said Pandit had “burn, cut and injury marks” on his body. A four-minute audio message surfaced on social media on Thursday wherein Manzoor, claiming to be Pandit’s friend, is heard pledging jihad as it was “better to die than live a life where ones honour was not safe”.while HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, a senior police officer said the team is looking into its contents.

“I was not a votary of guns and thought that those picking up guns were wrong in playing with their lives. But today, I can say that the only solution to the tyranny here is jehad and gun. And if we have to save our coming generations from this trouble then we will have to become like Shaheed Adil (suicide bomber in Pulwama terror attack),” Manzoor was heard saying in the audio which has been widely shared on social media.

“I don’t fear physical torture but it is better to die than face the uncalled-for-treatment and abuses. When I learnt that Rizwan was martyred, I joined militants,” he said.

“When it happened to him (Rizwan), can happen to me as well,” he said in the video, flashing Hizbul Mujahideen’s logo and date of joining as March 19. Manzoor claimed that “his friendship with Pandit started in the barracks of Awantipora police station on August 19, 2018. He alleged that they together faced “torture and abuse” at the hands of police when they were called to a local police station.