'Like A Rose Due To His Mother's Prayers': Jhelum Returns The Last Body Nearly 2 Years After Kashmir Boat Tragedy
The receding water level in the river exposed old wounds after body of Showkat Ahmad Sheikh was recovered by sand miners in Srinagar.
By ETV Bharat Jammu & Kashmir Team
Published : January 20, 2026 at 1:14 PM IST
By Parvez ud Din
Srinagar: As water level in the Jhelum recedes to record lows amid a prolonged dry spell in Jammu and Kashmir , it exposed old wounds as the body of a youth, who had drowned in a boat capsize, was recovered here on Monday after nearly two years putting an end to the protracted search operation.
The grim memories of the April 16, 2024 boat tragedy at Gandbal area of Srinagar were revived when the body of Showkat Ahmed Sheikh was recovered from the Jhelum by sand miners. This followed days after part of Showkat's foot, still intact in the shoe, was recovered from the same spot.
The Marcos divers resumed the operation with the help of the SDRF Quick Response Team and started an extensive underwater search, but the body could not be recovered. On Monday, the body was recovered by the sand miners from the river bank near the accident site. The recovery of Showkat's body takes the toll in the boat tragedy to 10 while five people were rescued on the accident day. Showkat's son, Haziq is also among the dead.
Ishfaq Ahmad, one of the sand miners, who recovered the body said that the body was “like a rose” and had not been decomposed. “It was probably due to his mother's prayers that it was finally recovered,” Ishfaq. He said that a mobile phone and a PAN card, which identified the body, were found in the pockets.
Showkat, who belongs to a poor family, was the sole breadwinner of his family. According to eyewitnesses, when the boat met with an accident, Showkat held onto a rope. However, when he saw his only son, Haziq drowning, he plunged into the gushing waters while letting go of the rope. But the waves of water took him too. Haziq's body was recovered days later while Showkat eluded the search teams.
As the search teams rummaged through the Jhelum bed, the mother of 25-year-old Showkat would sit on the banks gazing at the waves of the water as if requesting the river about her son's whereabouts.
As the body of her son was recovered on Monday, Showkat's mother wailed, “Oh my beloved son, I will sacrifice myself for you...! Women from the neighbourhood sang ballads for Showkat on the long-awaited 'homecoming'.
Among the deceased were many young school children, who had boarded the ill-fated boat in the swelled Jhelum.
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