Major’s suicide not end of fight: Lawyer’s kin

It was an early morning call that broke the news to Arshad Andrabi. "Major Avtar Singh has killed his wife and children, and has committed suicide," the caller said.

"It's a mixed reaction. We are sad at the tragic death of three innocent people — his wife and two children," Andrabi says.

For the past 16 years, Andrabi is fighting for justice for his brother, Jaleel Andrabi. A prominent human rights lawyer, Jaleel was picked up by Army soldiers on March 8, 1996 and allegedly killed in custody. Major Avtar Singh, who led the soldiers, was the prime accused in the case. It was due to Andrabi's efforts that a court directed a red corner notice be issued for Major Singh's arrest.

The notice, however, was not executed. Andrabi believes that had the notice been executed, it would have prevented the killing of "three innocent" people.

"The responsibility for the death of three innocent people (Singh's wife and two children) directly lies on the Government of India and the United States. Had he been arrested, these three people would not have been killed," he says. Andrabi says the suicide of Major Singh will not end his "fight for justice".

"For us, the fight will continue. His death doesn't mean an end of our fight. It (Jaleel's custodial death) was not one man's job. There was a chain of command responsible for the killings," he says.

Jaleel was not the sole victim. Abdul Majid Shah was also picked up from his home in Srinagar and allegedly killed in custody. Shah's ailing old mother Jana Begum is unaware of Singh's suicide. "The government has failed to punish him, but God has," says Shah's cousin.

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