Mushtaq Ahmad was working alongside the labourers at his newly constructed home when an "unwanted call" left him “shell-shocked”.
“My body started shivering,” says Ahmad, a teacher.
Ahmad received a call from his neighbor, who informed him about the killing of his cousin, a policeman, in a militant attack.
His cousin, Mohammad Sultan Dar, 38, a Selection Grade Constable (SgCt) with the Jammu and Kashmir Police was shot dead along with another cop by suspected militants in North Kashmir’s Bandipora on Friday, 10 December.
According to J&K police, the militants fired upon a police party of Police Station Bandipora near Gulshan chowk area at 5:15 pm on Friday.
The attack claimed the lives of two cops – identified as Mohammad Sultan and constable Fayaz Ahmad. Sultan was a driver while Ahmad was the personal security guard (PSO) of Station House officer (SHO) Police station, Bandipora.
"The cops received critical gunshot injuries. Both the injured were shifted to nearby hospital for treatment of their injuries, however both of them succumbed to their injuries."Said J&K police in a statement.
Soon after the attack, the area was cordoned-off and search operations were launched to nab the attackers.
The police said they have registered a case in this regard under relevant sections of the law.
"Investigation is in progress and officers continue to work to establish the circumstances which lead to this terror crime."J&K Police
Targeted Killing of J&K Police on the Rise
Kashmir has witnessed a rise of targeted killing of police personnel since the abrogation of Article 370. The killings have intensified in this year.
Police sources told The Quint that over 35 J&K policemen have been killed since 5 August 2019.
Data available with The Quint reveals that the J&K police has lost over 14 of its men in the year 2021. In 2020, over 15 cops were killed while 11 were killed in 2019 in different militant attacks, police sources said.
On 12 September, suspected militants shot dead a probationary sub-inspector of J&K police, at point-blank range, in Khanyar locality of Srinagar city.
On 19 February, two policemen identified as Mohammad Yousuf of Zurhama Kupwara and Suhail Ahmad of South Kashmir’s Anantnag were shot dead by militants in the Barzulla area of Srinagar.
CCTV footage of the attack shows a militant opening fire at a busy juncture where other cars are seen passing by.
Similarly on 17 September, the suspected militants shot dead another constable in Kulgam district. The cop was identified as Bantu Sharma of Railway Protection Force.
On 7 November, another policeman identified as Tawseef Ahmad Wani was shot dead by suspected militants in Batamaloo area in Srinagar.
Since the inception of armed insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the J&K Police has lost over 1600 men in different attacks, the police data revealed.
Lone Breadwinner
As soon as the dead body of Sultan reached home in Muqam Shaheed Mir, Dangerpora, a pall of gloom descended with women folk wailing, beating their chest to mourn the killing.
The heart piercing pictures of his three-month-old son and cousin’s daughter with tearful eyes went viral on social media.
Amid sobs, sultan was laid to rest at his anysastrial graveyard and will be just another number in the unending list of killed cops during the decades of conflict.
Sultan had joined the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2009 and was the lone bread earner of the family. He is survived by four kids – the elder ones are Salik Sultan (10) and seven year-old Uzair Sultan. His wife recently gave birth to twin babies, Affan and Ehsan, who are just 2-3 months old. He also leaves behind his 85-year-old father. His mother died a few years ago. He got married in 2006.
“He was the only support for his family. His father is unable to walk, what will he do to his family,” Sultan’s cousin Mushtaq Ahmad told The Quint.
He says the kids are too naive to understand why their father was killed. The only thing they know is how their father was taking care of them.
“He was always thinking about his family. Earlier, he was posted in Kupwara district, however, he managed to get himself transferred to Bandipora as the place was near to his native village,” Ahmad told The Quint.
He said, Kashmir has bearing the brunt of the India-Pakistan conflict for decades and will continue to receive the dead bodies of loved ones till it’s not resolved.
"For how long we will receive the dead bodies of our loved ones. It’s people who are dying and the families who suffer."Ahmad told The Quint
He maintains that Sultan wasn’t a “tough cop” and would never talk to anyone in a high tone. "He used to keep his head down and always had a smile on his face."
“I don’t think he would have any issues with anyone and would never argue with anyone. We wonder why he was killed,” Ahmad said. He said his killers should have at least shown mercy to him since he was unarmed and was just a driver.
Ahmad says they are unable to console Sultan's wife, whose “world has turned upside down” .
“She came out of the house at 3 am in the night and yelled what 'will I do in this house without my husband'," Ahmad told The Quint.
Targeted Because We Protect People: Police Chief
The Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh on Saturday rushed to the families of the cops killed in the attack and maintained that the police force has remained a target of militants for decades.
“Because we have been protecting people and ensuring their well-being, which doesn't suit the militants, they are attacking the police force,” he told a reporter at the slain cop's home in Sopore.
The police chief said, we have got initial clues with regards to the attack and are working to identify the militants involved.
Earlier, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that a lone Pakistani militant was involved in carrying out the attack.
"A single Pakistani militant came and fired upon the driver and one PSO of the SHO but couldn’t snatched their weapons due to retaliation by the second PSO," the IGP said.
Kashmir on Edge
The Valley has remained on edge since the revocation of special status by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on 5 August 2019.
This year, the disturbance has increased after the targeted killing of non-locals, Kashmiri pandits and BJP workers. On 8 December, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) revealed that over 366 militants were killed, and 96 civilians and 81 security personnel lost their lives in Kashmir after the repealing of Article 370.
On 30 November, the MHA revealed in Parliament that over 40 civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in this year alone.
According to reports, the last time the region witnessed 40 civilian deaths due to militant activities was in 2017. Since then, the number has remained less, with 39 civilian deaths being reported in the year 2018 and 2019 and 37 in the year 2020.
Hundreds of non-locals left the Valley in the month of October after the killing of some labourers. Following the killings, Home Minister Amit Shah rushed to the violence-hit region and reviewed the security scenario.
On Shah's instructions, five companies of central paramilitary forces were deployed in the Valley mainly in Srinagar city in addition to 25 companies of the force sent last month.
The security forces also set up additional bunkers and checkpoints in Srinagar and have intensified the frisking across Kashmir, especially in Srinagar city.
However, despite more military boots, the militants managed to sneak in and carry out the attacks.
(Auqib Javeed is a Srinagar-based journalist. He tweets @AuqibJaveed.)
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