Kashmiri Photojournalist Alleges Police Assault On Parents: 10 Things To Know

Masrat Zahra case: A photojournalist from Kashmir on July 25 alleged in a tweet that her parents were assaulted in Batamaloo. She claimed that her father's ID card was taken by the police and alleged that her mother was also assaulted when she tried to intervene.

As per a report by NewsLaundry, the head of Batamaloo police Aijaz Ahmed claimed that the allegation made by the photojournalist are baseless. He was quoted saying, "They were walking past a checkpost where we were seizing motorcycles. Her mother used some abusive language, that the police are oppressive, that we have seized so many bikes because our rations have finished and we will demand money."

Here's All We Know of Masrat Zahra Case Involving Her Parents:

• Masrat Zahra in her tweet alleged, "High on power, cops of JKP thrashed my parents in Batamaloo today around 5 PM. Id card of my father has been taken away by cops and when my mother tried to intervene, she was also thrashed. One fails to understand how an elderly couple deserved this high handed behaviour of JKP."

High on power , cops of JKP thrashed my parents in Batamaloo today around 5PM. Id card of my father has been taken away by cops and when my mother tried to intervene, she was also thrashed. One fails to understand how an elderly couple deserved this high handed behavior of JKP.

— Masrat Zahra (@Masratzahra) July 25, 2021

• After the police gave their statement in the case and denied assaulting Zahra's parents, she posted pictures of her father twitter which showed bruises on his arm.

Posting the picture of my father who was thrashed by police. One can clearly see his bruised arm. I didn't want to post these pictures but yesterday's police statement is ridiculous and they cannot thrash people in the day and at the end of day when questioned deny the thrashing. pic.twitter.com/TM6wzEXUdO

— Masrat Zahra (@Masratzahra) July 27, 2021

• Zahra's parents, Feroza Fatima and Mohammad Amin Dar in their statement to Newslaundry claimed that they were stopped by the police for not wearing a mask. They alleged that the police officials started beating Mohammad Amin Dar and when Fatima intervened she was also assaulted.
• Fatima also alleged that the police threatened to kill her husband.
• The police reportedly took Dar's Aadhar card. Dar was later taken to a doctor who prescribed painkillers and an X-ray of his head, as per the report.
• The police reportedly accused Zahra of creating hype and denied allegations of assault on her parents. The head of Batamaloo police in his statement said, "If we knew that they were provocative with this background and that’s why they were doing it, we’d have dealt with them accordingly."
• The police officer also claimed that there is CCTV footage to refute Zahra's allegations but he said, "I told my seniors that I will rebut it with CCTV footage but they said that will still end up giving her hype, that she has importance. They told me to ignore it."
• Masrat Zahra was one of the journalists from Kashmir booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly "frequently uploading anti-national posts with criminal intention."
• She is also a recipient of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism, 2020 and the Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award.
• In a tweet posted after the police gave their statement, Zahra wrote, "Reading the police statement, anyone can concur how police sees me a threat to state for mere doing my professional work as a journalist and now I fear for the safety of my parents and other family members."

After being booked under the UAPA in 2020, Zahra had given an interview to The Print where she said, "I am among the very few female photojournalists in Kashmir and have been working really hard to learn and to create my space for the past four years. They (police) want to silence me. They want to suppress me as I bring out the repressed voices and stories of Kashmir."