KUPWARA: "They abused him while taking him down the stairs and said they must 'conduct searches.' I did not know what they were looking for… Before I knew it, I heard shots," says elderly Hajira Begum.
Since April 26, when her 44-year-old son Ghulam Rasool Magray was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Kani Khas village in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, she is struggling to make sense of what happened and come to terms with the loss of her son.
Magray, a labourer, was killed four days after 26 tourists and a local pony operator were killed in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow. Since then, security forces across Jammu and Kashmir have been on high alert.
‘They Killed Him! Why?’
"Around 11 PM, two armed men barged into our house,” she told the Kashmir Times, recalling the incident.
“They spoke a combination of Kashmiri and Urdu, hurled insults at my son, who was peacefully sleeping. They claimed they needed to conduct a search and dragged my son outside,” she said.
“Within minutes, I heard the sound of gunshots,” she said, and pauses to gather her strength to go on.
“I was in a state of shock and couldn't understand what was happening. But somehow, I found the strength to come out and saw my son lying near our main door, critically injured. In his last breath, he whispered, 'Moji, Bai Morhaa’s... Moji, (Mother, they killed me)," she said, still grappling with the devastating loss of her son.
The pain of being left alone to bear the weight of her grief is overwhelming.
"I couldn't recognise, who killed my son," she said as she cried, as friends attempted to console her. "I am left with no one now," she added, her voice shaking with grief.
"It was dark in the night and my eyesight is poor, so I couldn't see what was happening,” she said.
Hajira, in her seventies, can now barely see and Magray was her only support, the sole bread earner for this family of two. Her elder son had crossed the borders in the 1990s but never returned, some neighbours revealed. They never heard from him ever since he left.
She still can’t understand why her son – a labourer, ‘a calm and gentle soul who never harmed anyone’ – was killed.
"He was devoted to family, handled household duties, and was deeply religious, praying five times daily. He lived peacefully and taught kindness. He was helpful to me – worked for supporting me and also helped me in household chores. I don't understand why he was killed," Hajira Begum continuously repeated several times while narrating the sequence of events on the day of the killing.
Magray’s Killing Spreads Shock
Neighbours present at her house to offer their condolences said that they tried their best to save his life but failed.
"We immediately responded to his cries for help and took him to the district hospital, GMC Handwara, where, after a treatment, he was referred to SMHS for advanced treatment. But unfortunately, he died before reaching SMHS,” one of the neighbours told the Kashmir Times.
Magray’s killing has sent shock waves across the Kashmir, with people who knew him or the family struggling to understand the motive behind his murder. Across Kashmir, the killing has sparked conversations.
"We can't afford to lose more innocent lives. "We want justice for the Ghulam …and his family,” a person said requesting anonymity.
"Nowadays, such incidents are becoming increasingly common, and it is being normalised," another said.
The killers need to be brought to book so that another mother does not have to endure this, many people have raised this question on the social media and in private conversations.
"We call for justice for him and his family," said his neighbour, pained by Magray’s brutal killing.
"We are not violent people; we don't believe in any kind of violence. These things are unacceptable and must be investigated thoroughly," said Sheikh Khursheed, the local legislator who met the bereaved family.
The incident has also raised questions about the security of the Kashmiri community in the area and the necessity of action to be taken to ensure their rights are protected.
According to the Police, investigation into the murder of Ghulam Rasool Magray, a 44-year-old man from Kupwara, is going on.
The police have lodged a case and launched an investigation to catch the killers but as yet there are no leads. This story will be updated when there is a breakthrough.
Repairing Pieces of Life
While the hunt for the killers continues, the family is left to repair the pieces of their broken lives.
Her voice heavy with grief, Hajira says, "I had lost sight in one eye and had only 30 percent vision in the other, but his words gave me hope. He told me, 'I will arrange money, and I will get your eye surgery done soon.' But now……. he is no more."
"I'm left with nothing but tears and sorrow…….,” she adds.
(Zaid Malik is a Kashmir-based independent journalist and social commentator from Bandipora. He tweets as @_zaidmalik178.)
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