Every day since Sunday, Abdul Salam Chopan has been going to the banks of a local stream in Ramban in Jammu province, and waiting. Passing hours and swift water currents are dwindling the chances of his son Tanveer Ahmad being found alive, and Chopan knows that. However, the 40-year-old, a Special Police Officer with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, hopes that at least the 18-year-old’s body may wash up.
Tanveer, a resident of Mundkhal Pogal in Ukhral tehsil, was coming home from Jammu with two bovine animals and two calves in a pickup vehicle when, around Sunday afternoon at Digdole near Ramban on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, a group of self-styled cow vigilantes in two vehicles started chasing him.
Eyewitnesses have told police the men managed to intercept Tanveer near Maggarkote and started assaulting him. He ran down the road and reportedly jumped into the nullah flowing along the highway to escape. He has not been seen since.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer Surinder Singh Biloria, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case, says Tanveer had bought the cattle to use them as milch animals, and had a written permission from the District Magistrate, Jammu, to transport them.
As news spread of Tanveer’s “disappearance”, hundreds of residents of Pogal and nearby villages in Ramsu sub-division gathered at Maggarkote and blocked the national highway demanding action. Four men, known for “cow vigilantism” in the area, have been arrested.
The cattle as well as the pickup truck are in police custody.
Tanveer, employed as a driver with a factory in Jammu, was returning home after nearly a month, says Chopan. “He called me before leaving Jammu around 6 am Sunday. I told him I will stay back at home since he was coming.”
Instead of Tanveer, says Chopan, a call arrived from a senior police officer. “The officer asked me to come to Ramsu. When I heard what had happened, the ground slipped under my feet.”
Tanveer took up the job in Jammu after passing Class 10 two years ago, to help the family, says Chopan. As an SPO, posted at the Banihal Railway Station on guard duty, Chopan earns Rs 18,000 a month. He has four other children, all daughters, of whom one is married.
Police said after they were informed about what had happened, they reached the spot and launched a rescue.
But the multi-agency search to locate Tanveer, including State Disaster Response Force and National Disaster Response Force officials, has not come up with anything in the past four days. Officials say the strong water currents and the depth of the stream are hampering rescue efforts.
The four arrested by the SIT – Surjeet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Digvijay Singh and Kewal Singh – are all residents of Ramban. While one of them is a village lamberdar, another is a cloth merchant and a third works in a transport company.
A police officer, who did not want to be named, said the four are known in the area for “cow vigilantism”, and for “harassing” Muslim cattle transporters”. “After the search for Tanveer’s body is over, we will try to find out whether they were involved in any previous case,” the officer said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called the incident a “murder” and said “jungle raj” would not be tolerated in J&K. Those who want to use religion as an excuse to mar the atmosphere in the Union Territory would not be allowed to do so, he said.
Abdullah has also urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is in-charge of law and order in the Union Territory, to ensure there is action against those involved.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has warned that the incident involving Tanveer shows that “the poison of cow vigilantism” is coming to J&K. There could be “repercussions” if there was no action against the accused, he said.
Local BJP MLA Arjun Singh Raju has also condemned the incident, saying strict action shall be taken against the accused.
Tanveer, employed as a driver with a factory in Jammu, was returning home after nearly a month, says his father, Abdul Salam Chopan. (Special Arrangement)
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