At 75, Fatima Begum’s only wish is to see her son once

On September 25, 2000, the family say two army gypsies pulled up outside Firdous’s shop. “He had returned from a marriage party and had just opened his shop for the day,” says Rouf, Firdous’s younger brother.

“They dragged him to the gypsy, his face covered with his own shirt and took him to an unknown destination. We later got to know that a Major Sidhu from Badami Bagh Cantonment had arrested my brother,” says Rouf.

“I went to Badami Bagh and also to other army camps in the city, but no one confirmed his arrest,” says mother Fatima Begum.

The family say they lodged a complaint at Ram Munshi Bagh Police Station on the basis of which police registered an FIR. However, when Firdous couldn’t be traced, the family approached the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), which referred the case to Divisional Crime Branch of Police.

In its report to SHRC dated May 25, 2005, the Crime Branch states: “The inquiry conducted into the matter reveals that the missing person was picked up by army personnel”.

On the basis of this report, the SHRC recommended action against the culprits named by the complainant, an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh and a government job for the victim’s family. But Firdous’s mother says neither did they get the money nor the job.

“I also went to Farooq Abdullah (the then state chief minister)… He told me that I should meet George Fernandes (the then Defence Minister). We went to meet him when he visited Kashmir but we were not allowed to” says Fatima Begum.