Bengaluru: Mughal emperor Jahangir had described the Kashmir valley as ‘heaven on earth’, but the state for the past few decades has been going through turbulent times with frequent terror attacks, curfews and police firings.
Three families, who have lived in the valley all their lives, and gone through the trauma of losing their loved ones due to the unrest were in the city to tell their story. Each of them had lost at least a member in what can be categorized as fake encounters or enforced disappearances.
In April 2010, Shazad Ahmad Khan (27), a fruit vendor, went missing when he travelled close to the border, after he was promised work by a man from the army camp. For nearly a month the family was in the dark about his whereabouts. Then they learnt that he had been killed by the army in a fake encounter.
“My eldest brother was a father figure and the sole breadwinner. After his death, our entire family was left in tatters. My mother, father, wife, sisters and I all suffered seizures that year. His 9 year old son still cries on his grave, asking for his ‘papa’,” said Showkat, his brother.
“We wanted him to study further but he left school in the 8th grade in order to support us financially. I gave birth to him; imagine how much pain I feel. We don’t even know if the accused army men were prosecuted,” said his mother, sobbing and wiping away tears.
In another incident, Ali Mohammed Shah lost his son Altaf Ahmad Shah after he was picked up by Rashtriya Rifles. “His kidneys were damaged and had been brutally tortured, when we found him at the police station. He went into a coma and died three days later. I have told this story countless number of times. For the past 16 years it feels like salt has been rubbed on a wound…there is no justice,” said his father.
The story does not end here. Mansoor Ahmed Mir went missing in 2003, when the army conducted a raid at his house and took him away. Two and a half years later, his mother found buried skeleton remains.
“He was my eldest son and dearest to me. After his death, I have become weak. I still swear on him when I make promises. Though I was emotional, I had to step in and take care of his four children,” said his aged mother.
“The whole system is corrupt. We are fighting to put the guilty behind bars, but it is impossible,” said Mir’s brother, an opinion echoed by all the families.
