Family members of a Kashmir student who was allegedly roughed up at a Greater Noida university took to the streets in Srinagar on Thursday, 1 November, after he went missing.
Ehtisham Bilal, a first year student of the Sharda University, reportedly went missing on Sunday, 28 October.
The family protested in Srinagar’s Press Enclave and requested J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik to help them find their only child.
The student’s father, Bilal Ahmed, said the family has no clue about Ehtisham’s (17) whereabouts.
“We don’t have any information about our son. We had sent him to Delhi for studies. We appeal the government to trace out our child. We only want our child back and nothing else. We don’t have any clue yet, they don’t say us exactly where he is. We appeal Governor sahib to help us in finding our only child.”Bilal Ahmed, Ehtisham’s father told Greater Kashmir.
Ehtisham Boarded a Flight to J&K: Police
The last traced location of Ehtisham indicates that he reached Pulwama on Sunday evening, 28 October. Since then, his number has been switched off, police officials at Knowledge Park, Greater Noida said.
Talking to The Quint, Arvind Pathak, SHO of Knowledge Park, confirmed that Ehtisham took a flight to Srinagar, and an e-ticket copy is currently in police’s possession.
“Our investigation shows that Ehtisham had booked a GoAir flight on 26 October and paid Rs 4,205 for it. The ticket mentioned that the flight was available from Terminal 2 of IGI airport in Delhi. The flight departed at 1:30 pm and he landed in Srinagar at 3 pm.
The college also asked Ehtisham’s cousin, who is also his hostel roommate, to verify the CCTV footage at IGI airport, police officials added.
“Till around noon, we traced Ehtisham’s phone location in Delhi and by around 2 pm, his location was traced to Jammu. His last traced location was in Pulwama after which his phone has been switched off. The case is now being looked into by Srinagar police.”Arvind Pathak, SHO, Knowledge Park
On Sunday morning, Ehtisham last told his father that he was going to Delhi for “sight-seeing”, the Hindustan Times reported.
“Then, around 4.39 pm, I called him again and he informed me that his trip had ended and he was boarding a Metro to Noida within the next 15 minutes. When I asked him what places he went to in Delhi, he said he will send me the pictures on WhatsApp once he reached his hostel campus. That was the last time I spoke to him as when I called him again around 6 pm, his phone was switched off,” Bilal told HT.
Talking to The Quint, Sharda University registrar said the college authorities are working with police officials to locate Ehtisham.
“The hostel’s chief warden had informed us and written to Ehtisham’s parents on Sunday after discovering that the student has not returned to the college campus. Now the police is looking into his disappearance and have found that he took a flight to Jammu and Kashmir,” Joint Registrar of Sharda University, Ajit Kumar said.
Mistaken for Afghan Student, Attacked
Last month, Ehtisham was beaten up at the university after being mistaken for an Afghan student. The incident took place days after clashes between Indian and Afghan students had erupted in the campus.
According to the officials at Sharda University, nearly 69 students, including Ehtisham, had to face disciplinary action.
“It was a personal fight between two students that swelled into a much larger altercation after several chipped in to provoke other students,” the joint registrar told The Quint.
The university had been shut for three days and police was also deployed on the campus for security.
“Since then, we have been vigilant with respect to communal fights on the campus, Kumar told The Quint.
(With inputs from Greater Kashmir and Hindustan Times)
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