BANDIPORA: Early this week the Army declared that in one of its biggest operations in the Valley it had smashed a militant hideout in the middle of the world famous Wular Lake in North-West Kashmir the biggest freshwater lake in Asia.
According to Major N.S. Salathia the Army spokesman here 16 militants were killed and 19 arrested in the three day operation Wular which started last Thursday without any casualty of Army personnel. There was a big haul of arms and ammunition he added.
On Monday a few rumors came out of Bandipora on the Shore of Wular Lake and 78 km from Srinagar that hundreds of people were missing in the wake of the operation.
The road here from Srinagar like most other roads in Kashmir today is full of craters and missing tarmac. The drive takes at least three hours more than it should. But the area remains exquisite with yellow mustard flowers framing the blue of the lake just as in the days before the eruptions of militancy.
In this area there are about 40 tiny villages which remained under the siege of the Army from Thursday to Saturday. The residents and the army used motor launches rubber boats and even sought aerial help to carry out the operation.
During the operation a fierce encounter between Army jawans and the militants took place in Hari Batti a thickly-wooded island in the north-east pant of Wular Lake. It is around six km in length and three km in breadth. About one and half kms away is Sabbar Batti a tiny island but equally thick with trees. In the vicinity are a few more islands some of them called Hoen Zoo (kog Sanctuary) where wild dogs roam.
From Bandipora Hari Batti is a three -hour boat ride. Today there are a number of burnt and half burnt boats on the shores of the island On the way to Hari Batti there were two bodies floating on the lake one being pulled towards the shore by a resident of Badiyaar a village on the bank of Wular. It had some distinct marks which appeared to be torture marks. The other body was half eaten by a vulture.
Gulam Mohammad a self-confessed militant of Badiyaar managed to escape from Hari Batti in a boat during operation Wular along with four colleagues in a boat. According to him “the Army men were rushing towards Hari Batti from three sides firing away. They also had aerial help hiding in Sabbar Batti. We fired on the Army boats and managed to escape from the other side. Many of my colleague jumped into Wular but I escaped in a boat which was fired upon by the Army injuring two of my colleagues” He claimed that at least 100 to 150 laborers and about a dozen militants were in Hari Batti island when the Army came.
Normally no one stays in Hari Batti. But according to forest department officials the government sold a contractor the right to cut wood from the island this year. The laborers as well as many boatmen to carry the timber are there. A state government spokesman said “some militants were involved in wood smuggling from these island and 20 of them some hard-core militants included were arrested in Hari Bau A lot of ammunition was recovered.
Residents of the villages around Wular Lake complained of alleged excesses by Army jawans during the siege. In Watlab Ghat the first village that was cordoned off two women claimed that they were gang raped while a dozen-odd woman alleged that they were molested by Army personnel. A first information Report (FIR) about the alleged rape and molestation has been filed at the Sopore police station but the women have not been medically examined.
In Zoormana the village next to Watlab Ghat Haji Ghulam Mohammad said: “One Boatman from our village was killed during the operation; 21 young men were arrested interrogated but released the same evening.” The boatman who had been killed was Mohammed Sulta Malla his son said “land my father were fishing in the middle of the lake The Army started firing on all the boats. We raised our manes but they continued to fire and my father died on the spot.
An average of one resident is missing from each of the 40-odd villages. In Khenoosa a tiny village nestled at the foot of nearby hills residents Mohammad Maqbool Sheikh and Ghulam Mohammad Lone have been killed while three boatmen are missing.
The complaints are similar in other villages Kena Bhat Ishtingo Aloosa Aloosa Ghat Lahar Vapora Qazipora Watapora Keema. In all the villages young men showed bruises and black burn marks. They alleged that the Armymen had burnt them with torches and the scars were due to the beatings with rifle butts.
Apart from the allegations of Army atrocities residents of these villages are now wondering about survival About 40000 people in these villages are poor fisherman who now fear to go out on the lake as many of their colleagues have not returned home. Those who would still like to go fishing are finding it difficult to get boats as so many of them have been burnt. During a drive around the shores of Wular on could see at least 60 half-burnt boats around.
But the alternative if the resident’s do not go fishing is starvation Ghulam Nabi of Laharvaora villages which has about 2000 fishermen said “if we do not go out in Wular and earn something we cannot eat in the evening.”
Additional Director General of police Amar Kapoor told Sunday Mail “on receiving specific information the Army started biggest operation in the area. They recovered 17 automatic rifles and arrested 22 suspected militants from Hari Batti Island.” According to him 20 persons were killed in the exchanges of fire between the hiding militants and the Army Jawans. “When asked about the allegations that all boats were but by security forces Kapoor said “they may have caught fire because of gunfire.” Regarding the alleged sexual assault on women he said “I have received no such information. During the search operation all care and caution was used not to harm the local population. As far as I know Army jawans behave quite politely with people.”
Article extracted from this publication >> April 24, 1992
