Kashmiri driver jailed for 12 years in Tripura
Rights activists say framing is routine to malign freedom movement
New Delhi : An Indian court has sentenced a truck driver from Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment in a narcotics case, in what observers say is part of a pattern of implicating Kashmiris on framed charges to malign them and Kashmir freedom movement.
According to Kashmir Media Service, a court in Tripura convicted Manzoor Ahamed Chachi ,a resident of Katyanwali in Baramulla district, under NDPS Act.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh.
The case relates to the alleged seizure of cannabis from a truck at the Churaibari check post in Tripura.
Rights activists and legal observers in IIOJK noted that Kashmiris working outside the territory are frequently booked in serious cases, including under stringent laws like the NDPS and UAPA, often on the basis of contested seizures during transit.
“Implicating Kashmiris on framed charges has become routine to criminalize an entire population and to discredit their political struggle,” a Srinagar-based rights monitor said. “Such convictions are then projected to malign Kashmiris and their freedom movement.”
