I am a Kashmiri and not a terrorist, says Rafiq Shah

HOME Acquitted by a court, Shah expresses desire to work for humanity, continue studies

SHUHAMA, SRINAGAR: Twelve years after being thrown in prison as a suspect in the 2005 Delhi serial blasts case, Rafiq Shah finally walked into his home at Shuhama on the outskirts of Srinagar on Wednesday. He was acquitted in the case last week.

Shah, 22, was picked up from his home by officers of the special branch of Delhi Police weeks after the blast. It took him 12 years to prove his innocence later. On Thursday, Shah agreed to be interviewed by HT . Excerpts: I was picked up from home. Policemen climbed the gates of our house and took me away without even allowing me to wear my shoes. I was taken to the Cargo (an infamous interrogation centre in Srinagar) and later to Delhi. It was only there that I came to know why I was picked up. Before that, I was kept in the dark. I thought it was probably just another routine interrogation,as is common in Kashmir. probably akin to issuing a warning to the state’s student community. I have often heard policemen say: Satyamev Jayate. But where is that ‘satya’, that truth? It’s clear what role the police played in our case. I think they are an implementation force, and we do not know from which corridor of power they get their orders.

I sympathise with victims of the serial blasts – they have suffered, and their near-anddear ones will never come back. However, that does not authorise the police to arrest anybody with a Kashmiri name and brand him as the mastermind of the attack. This way, they make people believe that we are all culprits.

I request the people who are demanding our execution to view our case and read the court judgment. Being a Kashmiri is not the same as being a terrorist. The Kashmir issue is there, and cases like mine will keep happening till the issue is settled. Innocent people like me will keep getting arrested, perhaps just to create a threat.

I have many things going on in my head right now. I have to plan for the future and I will continue with my studies. But I also want to do something for humanity in general – especially those suffering from injustice.

Everybody has a right to justice, whether they are free or locked up inside a jail.

WASEEM ANDRABI/ HT PHOTO Rafiq Shah at his home in Shuhama on the outskirts of Srinagar a day after returning from Delhi. He was acquitted in the 2005 Delhi blast case last week.