Fear prevails in Shopian villages

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 22

On Friday morning, as the rattle of gunfire woke up people in Kapran and Batagund villages in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, it marked another day of bloodshed and mounting fear.

For the villagers weary of violence, it is the time of harvest of apples in the fruit-rich district, but Friday turned out to be another day of mourning as militants shot dead three local policemen who had returned home to visit their families.

Firdous Ahmed was on duty at the Railways in Kakpora, Pulwama, Nisar Ahmad was posted in Srinagar, while Kulwant Singh was posted in Kulgam. All of them were abducted and their bullet-riddled bodies were found in an orchard. The families of SPOs resisted their abductions as they knew they would be killed. Friday has revealed the magnitude of the deteriorating situation in the Valley.

“We fear to talk about anything. Everyone is fed up what is happening. What are we supposed to do? We fear for our lives,” said a 60-year-old man as he attended three funerals in adjacent villages, 65 km away from the summer capital.

Of late, the abductions and killings of policemen have created a challenging situation for the authorities which seem to be in a denial mode. In south Kashmir, there are 20,000 families of policemen who are now caught in the line of fire. The roads to the villages reveal the tension which is slowly spreading.