HUMAN RIGHTS BODY SOUGHT JUDICIAL PROBE FROM NHRC INTO MYSTERIOUS DEATHS OF THREE TRIBAL MEN IN KULGAM, J&K

Human Rights Body move to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the alleged enforced disappearance and subsequent deaths of three tribal youths—Showkat Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad Bajad, and Mukhtar Ahmad—who went missing on 13 February 2025 while en route from Qazigund to Ashmuji in the Kulgam district of Jammu & Kashmir.
The incident has ignited public outrage and protests, particularly among the Gujjar and Bakerwal tribal communities in South Kashmir.
The complaint to the NHRC invokes Sections 13 and 14 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, alongside Rule 15 of the NHRC (Procedure) Amendment Regulations, 1997, urging the Commission to:
• Take urgent cognizance of the matter and initiate an independent inquiry;
• Recommend the appointment of a judicial authority (serving or retired judge not below the rank of Sessions Judge) to conduct a thorough and impartial probe;
• Call for immediate reports from the Jammu & Kashmir Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, and police departments;
• Deploy the NHRC’s Investigation Division to conduct an on-ground fact-finding mission;
• Recommend compensation and remedial measures in the interest of justice and accountability.
This action has been initiated by the Organization for Human Rights & Harmony (OHRH), an independent civil society group committed to the protection and promotion of human rights. The complaint was filed by Nikhil Padha, an advocate and human rights activist based in Jammu, who serves as the founder of OHRH, to ensure that the voices of marginalized communities in conflict zones are not lost in systemic apathy.