Mehbooba Mufti calls for systemic reform of J&K Police JICs

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) called for “systemic reform and scrutiny of all Joint Interrogation Centres (JICs)” of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, a day after the Supreme Court directed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and the arrest of police officials involved in the custodial torture of a fellow policeman on “false charges”.

“A man was tortured so brutally that his genitals were mutilated is a chilling reminder of custodial abuse in J\&K. The SC’s order for a CBI probe, arrests and ₹50L compensation is a long overdue step. This isn’t an aberration, systemic reform and scrutiny of all JICs is urgently needed,” Ms. Mufti said.

The victim, constable Khursheed Ahmad Chouhan of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, was granted a compensation of ₹50 lakh by the Supreme Court, “recoverable from the officers concerned against whom a departmental proceeding shall be initiated upon conclusion of the investigation by the CBI.”

Chouhan was arrested on February 20, 2023, and allegedly subjected to “brutal custodial torture for six consecutive days”.

“Considering the gravity and magnitude of the custodial torture established through medical records and the institutional apathy that followed, we are of the considered opinion that this is a fit case for awarding compensation to the victim of the violence,” the Supreme Court Bench observed.

According to the case records, Chouhan’s genital organs and testicles were amputated. “Pepper was sprinkled on his private parts, and he was given electric shocks which led to a fracture of his foot. He suffered grave injuries during the custodial torture, and was shifted to the District Hospital, Kupwara, in a comatose condition,” the court background note stated.

“The influence being exercised by local police officials is evident from the fact that no proper investigation was initiated despite clear medical evidence of torture, and instead, a counter FIR No. 32 of 2023 was registered against the victim himself under Section 309 of the IPC to create a false narrative,” the court noted.

The Bench held that the local police at Kupwara had “demonstrated complete institutional failure by first illegally detaining the appellant from 20th February, 2023, then subjecting him to barbaric and systematic torture.”

The court also quashed FIR No. 32 of 2023 registered against the victim under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code.