September 22
Last month, Militants abducted the kin of a dozen Policemen in South Kashmir, however they were released a day post their kidnappings. The whole drama unfolded when Forces tried to set ablaze the houses of two local Militants, Naveed Babu in Pulwama and Shah Jahan in Shopian.
Militants through posters and audios have been constantly issuing warnings to Policemen to give up their jobs. Late on Thursday, Suspected Militants barged into the houses of four policemen in South Kashmir, the next day their dead bodies were found at Arhama in Shopian.
The slain Policemen were identified by police as Firdous Ahmad Khuchay, Nisar Ahmad Dhobi and Kulwant Singh. Their bodies of three policemen were retrieved in Wangam village outskirts
Locals informed The Kashmiriyat that soon after the abduction of the four Policemen from their houses several gun shots were heard from nearby orchards forcing people to go for the searches to the trace the abducted policemen.
“The masked gunmen were fifteen to twenty in number with masks on their faces,” Fayaz Ahmed, a Batagund resident said.
Firdous Ahmad Khuchay 37 son of Abdul Gani khuchay Batagund village, according to family members was working in police department as Constable since eight years. Slain has left four brothers and two sisters, wife and two infant children.
Nisar Ahmad Dhobi, a constable of Jammu and Kashmir armed police constable who was working in JKAP since 23 years was lone son of his parents and had two children, daughter 19 and son 14.
“Around 15 armed men barged into his one storey house and abducted Nisar. I pleaded them to not take my son away, but they said that they were taking him for questioning and they will release him after some minutes,” his father Abdul Rasheed Dhobi told The Kashmiriyat.
The next morning, we heard some bodies were found in the nearby village, we rushed out and heard that Nisar had been killed.
“He was my lone son and the bread earner. who will support me in my old age, “he said.
Nisar according to villagers had no land or any other property. Nisar has left two kids and elderly parents.
Kulwant Singh son of Drube Singh according to family members was working in police department as a special Police officer.
The mother of Singh, Pushpa Devi said hat her son was sleeping when two gunmen barged into their house.
“I was returning from cowshed when I saw two masked gunmen grabbing the collar of my son and there were many in backyard. I told them that he was not working in police anymore as my son had come to home late last evening only to get resignation from police,” she told The Kashmiriyat.
They listened to nothing and asked me to stay home, some hours later, i heard he had been been shot dead, she said.
Singh is survived by his mother, two children, daughter 10 and son 7.
The Singh family has been living in Batagund Shopian since years.
Firdous Ahmad Kuchay who was working in police department as Constable for the past eight years has left four brothers and two sisters, wife and two infant children.
“He was generous, innocent and never harmed anyone. His killing has shocked the entire area,” a neighbour of Firdous told The Kashmiriyat.
Firdous, as per the locals, has a handicapped wife suffering from polio, Family members said that slain was deputed in railway police.
“We followed militants to Kapren village and there they abducted another policeman and threatened us to stay at home,” Nawaz younger brother said adding that they did the same but all in vain.
More than 30 SPOs have announced their resignations publicly following the abduction and killing of SPOs which has escalated since the past few months, a fact denied by the Jammu Kashmir Police and Indian Ministry of Home affairs.
The Militants accuse them (SPOs) of being informers, however the families deny the allegations. The Jammu Kashmir Policemen have also been ordered by the department to not visit homes amid the high number of abductions following the attacks on the houses of Policemen by Government Forces.
After the kidnapping and killing of the three policemen, India on Friday called off the talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries next week in the US.
The local police continues to bear the brunt of the public anger, Much of which is rooted in the handling of the 2016 uprising in the wake of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani’s killing.