Teacher’s custodial death: Protest held in Awantipora, family demands exhumation of his body

Awantipora: The family members and the locals on Thursday staged a protest demonstration in Awantipora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district against the custodial death of a school teacher.

Rizwan Assad Pandith, 29, died in the custody of police at CARGO camp of the special operations group in Srinagar, days after he was picked up by the police from his home.

The protesters, who were joined by the members of local Sikh community, demanded the exhumation of Pandith’s body to “show the marks of torture on his body”.

Chanting slogans, ‘We want justice’ & ‘Rizwan ke qatilo ko pesh karo’ the protesters assembled at the highway near gurdwara in Awantipora.

Talking to reporters, the father and brother of Pandith dismissed the reports suggesting that he had tried to escape from the custody.

“Rizwan was brutally tortured in the custody and that has led to his death,” said his elder brother.