Srinagar, August 16 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, a pall of gloom has again descended on Aripanthan village of Badgam district as the villagers recall the mayhem caused by the indiscriminate firing by Indian troops on this day, last year.
On 15th of August 2016, some protesting villagers blocked the road that hampered a local middle-rung officer’s journey to a venue to hoist the Indian flag. On August 16, the next day, troops descended on the village to carry out a massacre without any provocation. Four villagers were mercilessly killed and several others wounded.
The families of the victims were still shattered. They say they will never recover from the loss of their precious lives. “How can we forget the sight of the blood of our beloved ones flowing like a stream on the bare road and the brain of a youngster splattering out of his pierced skull,” said Hafeeza, sister of victim Javid Ahmad Najar. Melancholy is prevails at Mohammad Ashraf Wani’s home who was another victim of indiscriminate firing. “Our son should have remembered us after our demise but the irony is that we are remembering him on his anniversary,” Wani’s mother told media with tears in her face.
“This is the first time I broken down after his martyrdom. Maybe I am getting old and weak or maybe it is the love of the slain kids that have moved me to tears,” she said with a trembling voice.
The scene was no different at Manzoor Ahmad Lone’s modest home where his widow, two children and ailing parents live in despondency.
“The wounds may heal but the pain will remain for a long,” Lone’s father said.
At Javid Ahmad Najar’s home, a handful of youngsters were making preparations for a prayer ceremony in the memory of the victim youngsters. “We can only pray for the departed souls and wish that their sacrifices would not go in vain,” a young boy said.
Najar’s younger sister Hafeeza Akther said the void created by the martyrdom of her brother would never be filled.