From: svaradarajan <svaradarajan@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 3:19 PM
Subject: [PMARC] Another boy, another story
Front Page
Story of a Lahore schoolboy in custody
| Nauman Arshad's plea to the Amritsar court to be allowed to call up his family was rejected |
AMRITSAR: Nauman Arshad is still in his school uniform — a light blue shirt and dark trousers — and should be appearing for his Class 9 examinations right now.
Instead, the 14-year-old Pakistani boy is in handcuffs, appearing before Amritsar's Chief Judicial Magistrate on charges of being an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent.
On Wednesday, his judicial remand was extended by another 10 days. On April 9, the court will hear his request for a bone density test to prove his age. Nauman wants to be transferred from the Amritsar Central Jail to the Juvenile Home.
The boy's journey from the Government Comprehensive Higher Secondary School for Boys in Lahore to the Amritsar district courts began over two months ago, on January 12.
Speaking to TheHindu in the court complex, Nauman explained how he boarded a bus from Lahore to the Wagah border out of curiosity, since he had always had a "desire to see what the Indian border actually looked like." While wandering around inspecting the border pillars, he was apprehended by a BSF patrol.
Nauman claims that the BSF interrogated him thoroughly, while the Punjab Police subjected him to "third degree" torture.
The boy has been booked under Section 3 of the Indian Passports Act and Section 14 of the Foreigners' Act. While some interrogators asked about his supposed links with the Taliban, others probed the possibility of him being a suicide bomber.
Apart from a wrist watch and a 10-rupee note in Pakistani currency, Nauman was also carrying 150 gm of almonds in his pocket.
This raised suspicions among his interrogators, who were convinced that he was trained in Peshawar along with Ajmal Kasab, chief suspect in the Mumbai attacks case. The 26/11 terrorists had brought bags of dried fruit to feed themselves during the siege.
Ateeq's case
This is not the first case of a truant Pakistani schoolboy being caught in India. The day after Nauman was arrested, 12-year-old Ateeq was caught illegally crossing into India on the Samjhauta Express.
After TheHindu wrote about his case, Ateeq is now safely back home in Lahore, giving Nauman some hope that his case will also be settled similarly. He said an emissary of the Pakistan High Commission in India recently visited him and assured speedy procedures for his release.
Nauman pleaded with the court to be allowed to call up his family. His request was rejected on the grounds that no such provisions are available.
"I just want to communicate with my mother and elder brother. Why cannot I be allowed?" he said.
Nauman's father Ramzan Arshad died nearly six years ago, according to documents that his advocate V.P.S. Bhatia, a member of the Lawyers for Human Rights International, submitted to the court to establish his juvenile status and place of residence. The certificate issued by the school indicates that Nauman last attended classes on January 11.
The youngest of three siblings, Nauman shares his interest in the computer and internet and how much he misses chatting with his friends and sharing "interesting websites."
Despite persistent family pressure to study biology and become a doctor, he is more interested in a career in computer technology.
Nauman said he saw India as a fascinating "land of opportunities," and his stint in an Indian jail does not seem to have deterred that interest.
"I would return to see it after I grow up and get proper travel documents," he asserted.
ENDS--
Siddharth Varadarajan
Chief of Bureau
The Hindu
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