An alleged bid to use him as a human shield during an anti-militancy operation, a treacherous mountain cave with only a cellphone flashlight as his aid, and a bear that leapt out of the darkness and lacerated him. Kulgam resident and school employee Mohammad Jahangir Malik battled all this in one night and lived to tell his tale.
After a precarious week during which he oscillated between life and death, Malik is now stable and recuperating at SKIMS Hospital in Srinagar.
On Wednesday, Malik narrated his ordeal to health minister Sakina Itto, who visited him at the hospital. The minister represents Malik’s Noorabad constituency in the Assembly.
The army was yet to react to the allegations till Thursday evening. Locals, including former sarpanch Mohammad Ayub Malik, and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti have come out in support of Jahangir Malik.
Malik, who was initially recruited as a teacher at a local private school but works as a clerk now, told The Telegraph that he was among around 10-15 locals who were picked up by the army from Khull village shortly after Fajr prayers on May 13 to “assist” them in an anti-militancy operation. He said he was forced to scan a dark mountainside despite his pleas that it was risky.
“I pleaded with them to spare me, telling them I was a teacher and my mother was ill. They did not relent. We were asked to climb a hill where we were divided into groups. I was taken to one side where there was a cave. They gave me a mobile phone with its flashlight switched on and asked me to go inside. They stood nearby. I told them I was scared, but they did not listen,” Malik said.
He had walked a few steps when a bear pounced on him. “I cried out to raise an alarm and recited the Kalima (thinking he might not survive). The bear hit my skull and tore into my body parts,” he said.
Malik said: “When the others rushed in, the bear fled. The armymen tried to plug my wounds. I was initially shifted to a local hospital, from where I was referred to SKIMS in Srinagar.”
Malik suffered multiple injuries, including a deep wound in his skull. “I underwent plastic surgery that went on for hours. I am recovering,” he said.
Former sarpanch Mohammad Ayub Malik backed Jahangir Malik’s claims and said he too was among those picked up by the army to “assist” them in the operation.
“He (Jahangir Malik) lives in an adjoining alley. The soldier who came to our lane appeared considerate. I accompanied him to a few houses where there were some private school teachers. He spared them and said he respects teachers. A couple of youths were picked up (for the anti-militancy operation). They asked me to accompany them but when somebody told them that I was an ex-sarpanch, they let me go,” he said.
“They were taken to a place called Gujjar Basti. It is a difficult area and two militants were killed there some months ago. A big operation was launched over suspicion that there could be more militants. While some 15 men were picked up from our village, several more were taken from other villages. They were asked to march ahead of the troops during the searches (effectively turning them into human shields).”
A doctor at SKIMS said Jahangir Malik had undergone two surgeries and that he had suffered multiple injuries on his head, face, leg and other body parts.
“Thankfully, there is no brain injury, although his skull has a severe wound,” he said.