People of Kashmir are being forced to pick up gun: Bilal Kawa’s family

The family and relatives blamed the media for projecting an “innocent civilian” as a “terrorist” and demanded his immediate release.

The family members of Bilal Ahmad Kawa ,who was arrested in Delhi in connection with the Red Fort attack case, on Friday termed his arrest illegal and accused police of framing him in a fake case. They also said that he was never absconding and also owns a house in Delhi. The family and relatives blamed the media for projecting an “innocent civilian” as a “terrorist” and demanded his immediate release. According to his relatives, Ahmad is married and a father to two young daughters. The family members and their relatives demonstrated in the city’s Press Colony on Friday.
They said Bilal Ahmad owns a house near Sadar Bazar, New Delhi, and had gone to the national capital for a medical check-up. “My son went to New Delhi for a checkup as he has a health problem. His brother who lives in Delhi told him to come and he was detained at the airport,’’ said Ahmad’s mother Fatima Begum.
She said that if he was involved in militancy, he would have never gone to Delhi on his own name. “Now my son is being framed in a fake case. He was a frequent traveller to Delhi.’’
She said Ahmad was carrying household and food items when he was picked up by the police at the airport. ‘’The claims of police that my son was planning an attack on January 26 are all fake and fabricated. After his arrest, police told us that he will be released and asked us not to tell anyone about his arrest. But then they released the news in the media.’’
Bilal’s cousin asked that if police were looking for him, how come he managed to get all sorts of documents on his own name. “His house is located near a CRPF camp in Kashmir. There are eight lakh troopers. How come they didn’t arrest him if he was absconding,’’ he said.
Accusing the media of portraying Ahmad’s arrest in a wrong way, he said, “They are forcing people of Kashmir to pick up gun, like they forced PhD scholar Mannan Wani and Burhan Wani.”