Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Thursday ordered the personal appearance of the SHO of the Billawar Police Station in Kathua district to apprise the court about the progress made in the investigation of the custodial torture of Makhan Din, who committed suicide after being released by the police.

The court also issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary of the Home Department, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor, CBI through its Director, J&K DGP, IGP of Jammu Zone, SSP Kathua, and SHO Biilawar Police Station. The notices were accepted by Senior Additional Advocate General (Sr. AAG) Monika Kohli, who was granted a week’s time to file the response.

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These directions were passed in a writ petition filed by Mohammad Mureed (father of Makhan Din) and Juna Begum (widow of Makhan Din), seeking the transfer of the investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) so that the probe is conducted in an impartial manner.

in a jampacked court, Advocate Appu Singh Salathia advanced the arguments at length on behalf of the petitioners and vehemently argued that a video of Makhan Din, a tribal of 26 years age, went viral on social media on 5 February 2025 wherein he explicitly stated that during police custody at Billawar Police Station, he was brutally tortured throughout the night with a view to compel him to confess his links with terrorists operating in the hills of Billawar.

Salathia further submitted that the deceased, Makhan Din, after swearing on the Holy Quran that he was innocent and had no association with terrorists, also stated that due to brutal torture, he had falsely confessed to having links with subversive activities. Makhan Din, on camera, stated that he was not in a position to face the torture again and ended his life after consuming some poisonous substance.

During the course of arguments, Salathia further stated that on the dying declaration of Makhan Din, no FIR was registered by the Billawar Police, and the District Police issued a rebuttal and labelled Makhan Din as an OGW (Over Ground Worker). Later, on the directions of the Sub-Judge (Special Mobile Magistrate), Kathua, the SHO of the Billawar Police Station registered an FIR on 9 March. However, the police gave a clean chit to those personnel who were accused of torturing Makhan Din.