May 02
Jahangeer Ganie
On Tuesday, Sameer Bhat alias tiger became the thirteenth militant of Drabgam village of South Kashmir’s since 90,s who was laid to rest at Martyrs graveyard Drabgam.
His family has no regrets and feels proud of his martyrdom. He was killed along with his associate in his native village on Monday afternoon.
Class 8th pass, good looking, and native of Drabgam of Rajpora, Sameer joined militant ranks few months before the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani.
“After passing his class 8th examinations, Sameer started working in a bakery shop at Pulwama and was several times arrested by security forces over stone Pelting charges,” says Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, father of Sameer Bhat alias tiger.
Before joining ranks he worked as an over-ground worker to provide logistical support to militants. “When I noticed his links with militants, I tried to convince him and asked him to study further but he had already choosen his path”, Bhat added
Sameer’s friends and neighbours remember him as a good-natured and pious person.
“He was very soft spoken and down to earth” said one of his neighbours.
“Sameer was very gentle and couldn’t harm anyone. He used to say that it is a sin to kill any innocent person,” said one of his friends and former classmate Khurshid Ahmed.
Before joining Hizb, he was arrested several times and one time he was in police custody for about one month,where he was tortured despite that he continued to work for militants, says Maqbool Bhat.
He added that “I was pressurised time and again by the police and the army. They wanted me to ask my son to surrender. However, I told them outright that if you can find him, then go and arrest him.
He added that “I won’t blame security forces for pushing my son to pick up gun as my would have picked gun with/without torture because since his childhood he was saying I have to die as a martyr”.
“Since childhood my son was of Islamic mind, I would call him a pillar of Islam and I am happy and proud that my son died as a martyr, that was his desire”,Bhat adds.
Sameer was laid to rest after multiple funeral prayers and gun salute from militants.
According to police, sameer was A++ category militant and his killing is major setback to hizb.
Before Sameer, about one dozen youth from drabgam, about 10 kms from Pulwama got killed after picking up arms 90,s which include Gh Mohammad Dar, Nazir Ahmad Dar, Mohammad shafi Bhat, Showkat Ahmed Dar, Firdous Ahmad wani, Ab Salam Ganaie, Mukhtar Ahmed wani, Mushtaq Ahmad Baba, Mohammad Asif wani, Shabir Ahmad Ganaie, Waseem Ahmad Ganaie and Manzoor Ahmad Baba.
Pertinently Manzoor Baba was killed on the very Ist day of year 2018 in a suicide attack at Lethpora Awantipora Pulwama.