, were attacked on Saturday evening by suspected militants.){kind=link}
Umar Jan and his twin brother Ishfaq Ahmad, a Special Police Officer (SPO), were attacked on Saturday evening by suspected militants.
Notably, the suspected militants barged into their house at Chadbugh in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Saturday evening resorting to heavy firing that killed Special Police Officer (SPO) Ishfaq Ahmad Dar and critically injured his twin brother, Umar Ahmad, who died on Sunday early morning.
Sadness and despondency hung over Kashmir in an atmosphere of gloom with the weeping crowds. Hundreds of Kashmiris attended the Namaz-e-Janaza or funeral prayers. Women wailed while the bodies were taken for burial, showering candies and flowers on the coffins of the slain brothers.
Emotional scenes were witnessed as the brothers’ bodies were brought home where a gigantic gathering of people was present to attend their funeral.
“What was my fault? What was my fault?” their grieving mother asked as women tried to console her. “They should have shot me in the heart… Where will I find my sons now?”
Top police officials, including Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar, visited their residence and expressed condolences to the family. Kumar said the entire police family stood with the bereaved family, according to a tweet by the Kashmir Zone Police.
Earlier, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the District Police Lines in Budgam for the slain SPO where the deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of police led police personnel in paying floral tributes to him.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, while expressing condolences to the family, said death and destruction have become a norm in Kashmir Valley. “In Kashmir, we watch helplessly as young lives are snuffed out. Death & destruction have become the norm. Sadly GOI doesn’t seem to care since Kashmiri lives have little value for them. Deepest condolences to the family,” she tweeted.
Condemning the killings, CPM’s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami termed it heinous and barbaric and demanded that perpetrators be identified and booked. “It has sent shock waves in the whole region and everyone is pained and grieved,” he said.
Kashmir Valley has seen a sudden spurt in militants attacks this month. Saturday’s attack was the third such attack in Budgam in the past fortnight.
It is stunning that in the most militarized zone of the world with the heavy presence of the Indian Army, terrorists are roaming around free and shooting civilians in their homes.
Earlier, Kashmirs were upset because Kashmiris were shot dead by armed forces and in November, eyewitnesses in Rambagh reported that three unarmed boys were dragged out from a car and shot dead on the streets of Rambagh in front of them.