Srinagar, May 28: Unidentified gunmen barged into the house of one farmer Ghulam Rasool Mir (55 years) son of Late Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din of Mir Mohalla Bawan in Rajwar area of Handwara at 10:10 pm and opened indiscriminate fire on the inmates in which Ghulam Rasool Mir (55 years) and his son a teacher Manzoor Ahmed (29 years) was killed.
Locals told media men, that three gunmen barged into the house of Ghulam Rasool Mir of Mir Mohalla Bawan at 10:10 pm. “They straightaway entered into the room where Ghulam Rasool Mir (55 years) was sitting and also asked his son, Manzoor Ahmed (29 years), to come down from first floor of the house. Then they fired on the two killing them on the spot,” they said. “The gunmen later fled from the spot,” they said.
As the news about the killings spread, hundreds of people including children and women took to streets and staged protests in the area this morning. Chanting pro-freedom slogans, the protesters were demanding identification and punishment to the killers. Later, hundreds of people participated in their funeral.
Ghulam Rasool Mir was a farmer whereas his son was a teacher at a local government school. Manzoor has a two-year-old daughter and was recently regularized as permanent teacher.
It was about 9.30 pm, Bawn village in north Kashmir’s Handwara was silent. Four men carrying arms and ammunition barged into the compound and knocked at the door of Ghulam Rasool Mir’s house. “They were dressed in black and asked for dinner,” says Fayaz Mir, Rasool’s son.
Rasool gave them the food as he and his family was yet to dine. “After getting some food the gunmen asked my father to provide them with food whenever they need,” says Fayaz adding that his father ‘refused’.
The refusal according to Fayaz did not go well with the gunmen and an altercation ensued. Fayaz says his father perhaps had a reason to refuse as an unidentified gunman had been killed in an encounter inside the cowshed owned by the family in 2009.
The altercation soon turned into a verbal brawl and the gunmen called for Fayaz’s brother Manzoor- a teacher, who was working in his room.
“The moment Manzoor arrived at the scene the gunmen fired at my father and then pierced 16 bullets into Manzoor’s body,” says Fayaz. The father-son duo died on spot.
Fayaz, a driver by profession, claims to have witnessed the gory killings as he was hiding in the house. “When I heard gunshots I ran and saw the blood drenched body of my helpless brother,” he says adding “I raised an alarm but the gunmen taking cover of the darkness fled from the spot.”
Manzoor, 28, was the eldest son of Mir and is survived by his wife Rafeeqa and their 2- year-old daughter Sania.
Manzoor’s friends expressed shock and described him as a good man dedicated to his family and work. “Those who saw him on the day of the killings said he seemed calm and normal,” says his friend Rasikh Rusool. Farooq Ahmad, a teacher says, “Humanity does not deserve such grave events."
When the word about the killing spread, hundreds of people from adjacent areas visited the bereaved family. The people lodged a strong protest demonstration demanding that the killers be identified and punished.
"Incidents like these are not new to North Kashmir. It is a no man's land, a territory in the hands of no one, with an absolute absence of the state," an angry elderly villager says. Agencies
Srinagar, May 28, 2011: Unidentified gunmen shot dead two members of a family in Handwara town during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. According to reports unidentified gunmen barged into the house of Ghulam Rasool Mir at Bowan, Rajwara village in Handwara and fired indiscriminately on him and his son Manzoor Ahmed Mir, killing both of them on spot.
When the news of the killings spread in the area, hundreds of men, women and children took to streets and staged massive demonstrations. Chanting slogans, the protesters were demanding identification and punishment for the people responsible for the killings.
Pertinently, the cycle of the fresh killings by the ‘unknown gunmen’ started from Muslim Peer locality of Sopore on the evening of January 31. The victims- Kulsuma, 19 and Rehana, 17 were dragged from their house and shot dead in the neighboring Mohalla Rahim Sahab. The killing of two young sisters was reported by the government-armed agents.
Abdul Majid son of Bashir Ahmad Khan of Badam Bagh was shot at and injured in Chotta Bazar in Sopore area while Mohammad Arif, son of Abdul Gaffar Reshi of Watlab Sopore was fired upon near the Sopore bus stand.
On the evening of February 15, the horror of unknown gunmen visited Kreeri –Pattan area of the Baramulla district.
Two girls, including a minor were injured after being shot at by unidentified pistol borne men in Duderhama village of Kreeri. The girls, Shaista, 18, daughter of Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Akhoon and 6-year-old Monisa, miraculously survived in the shootout. The police arrested three people, including Shaista’s sister-in-law, Haseena Badroo for hatching the conspiracy with the help of pro-government gunmen, popularly known as Ikhwanis.
On February 28, unidentified gunmen again resurfaced in Kreeri. Their target: A social activist and businessman. Haji Nazir Ahmad Lone, 45, son of Mohammad Abdullah of Thindam was shot dead from close range inside his office in broad daylight. The killings gave rise to strong resentment among the locals who took to streets demanding the identification of the ‘unidentified killers’.
Twenty-one-year old, student Sajad Ahmad Dar, son of Abdul Rahman Dar of Kraleteng Sopore was also the victim of unknown gunmen in Sopore town.
A school dropout, Sajad was shot dead near Mohalla Rahim Sahib, Sopore on April 10.
Fourteen days after Sajad’s killing, unidentified gunmen again stuck in Kreeri village killing an Imam.
Hafiz Mohammad Ashraf Lone, 30, of Chattipora, Sopore was shot in the head, three days after he reportedly went missing. His killing evoked strong condemnation from Hurriyet leaders. While veteran leader, Syed Ali Geelani said that the Indian army and its intelligence paid agents are behind the killigns, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) demanded impartial probe into the killing.
However, the condemnations and the calls for probe did not put an end to the killings.
On the evening of April 30, unidentified gunmen appeared in Chankhan locality of the Sopore town and shot at and critically injured Shams ud din Parray, 24, son of Ghulam Hassan. The injured youth succumbed to injuries while being shifted to the nearby hospital. The vicitm was a street vendor. Like the previous incidents, police registered a case into Parray’s killing.