Srinagar: On Thursday at around 4 am, 45-year-old Kousar Reyaz and her son Aquib Reyaz Sofi were driving towards their bakery shop when they saw security forces ahead. Sensing an unusual situation, Kousar asked her son to return but as soon as they took U-turn bullets were fired indiscriminately on the car. The instant firing from the security forces resulted in the death of Kousar.
On seeing his mother bleeding, Aquib stopped his car only to see that her mother had received bullets in the back of her head.
“As soon as she saw the security forces, my mother got scared and told me to turn back. Within a few minutes, we were fired at. The bullets had pierced through the rear windshield of the car hitting my mother's head,” the 25-year-old told ETV Bharat.
He further said, "I told police personnel posted there that my mother has been hit by a bullet but there was no reaction from them. Then some personnel in Rakshak (police van) took us to the police control room where I myself brought her out. She was declared brought dead but actually, she had died on the spot."
Kousar's family owns a bakery shop in the area and leaves their home every day around the same time to prepare bread for the residents. Aquib got married on August 31 this year after they shifted to a newly constructed house in the vicinity. After two back to back celebrations, the relatives had now gathered in the new home to mourn Kousar’s death.
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“This is a targeted killing,” the family claims.
When Kousar got killed, her husband was at work on a night shift duty at Srinagar's Chest Disease Hospital.
“Aquib first informed his father. He then called me from the spot and we went to the police control room but they have not returned Kousar's body so far,” Mohammad Amin Sofi, Aquib's uncle and father-in-law said, adding that no police or administrative official has visited the family so far and they have been left on their own.
“They are saying we cannot give you the body as the situation is tense,” he said.
According to the police, the joint operation was launched in the Batamaloo area of Srinagar at around 2 am. And the operation ended with the killing of three local militants – all from South Kashmir - and Kousar.
Addressing a press conference, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh claimed that Kousar was killed during the 'exchange of fire'. A CRPF deputy commandant, leading the operation, was also injured in the gunfight, who is currently being treated in the military base hospital.
"A woman Kousar Riyaz was unfortunately also killed near the encounter site. We are saddened that a civilian’s life was lost during the incident,” Singh said.
Interestingly, a 65-year-old civilian Bashir Ahmad Khan was killed during a militant attack on July 1, this year. The family of Bashir, who was travelling with his three-year-old grandson, alleged that he was targeted and killed after being dragged out from his vehicle, a claim the security forces continue to refute.
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According to the DGP, as many as 177 militants have been killed in the region so far this year in which 16 militants have been killed in seven operations carried out in Srinagar city alone. Among them, seven militants were locals of Srinagar.
The Batamaloo encounter started at around 2 am on Thursday in the densely populated locality close to the police control room. The armed forces cordoned the home of Abdul Majeed Ganie, a retired Jammu and Kashmir Grameen Bank manager.
"The forces knocked on our door and asked us to leave. They took all of our six mobile phones and detained my children. They asked us to stay on the road. We were not aware of what was happening. No one was at my home other than my family that time,” Ganaie told ETV Bharat.
According to Ganie, the police have detained his three sons – Izhar-ul-Islam, a BUMS doctor, Idrees-ul-Islam, a dentist and Shaheen-ul-Islam, postgraduate. He also has two daughters one of which is currently pursuing MBBS.
The operation has left his single-storey house damaged and the members claim that during the operation their gold jewellery worth lakhs of rupees and a cash of Rs 45,000 has also been stolen from their house.
Locals living near the gunfight sites or those caught in the middle of the firefight between militants and armed forces have many times alleged earlier as well that the police personnel have stolen their gold jewellery and cash during the counter-insurgency operations, a claim which the police has always denied.
According to the locals, the firing stopped at around 7:30 am following which clashes broke out in the area. The police fired various tear-gas canisters and flashes to disperse the protesters. The locals have since blocked various alleys and roads in Batamaloo and burned tyres to stop the movement of transport as a mark of protest against the killing of Kousar.
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The incident comes a day after a family in Sopore alleged that a 23-year-old youth Irfan Ahmad Dar was killed by the Jammu and Kashmir police in their 'custody' following which protests have broken out in the area. The internet services have been snapped in the area. According to the DGP, the police had recovered hand-grenades from Irfan’s possession and was leading them towards another recovery when he tried to 'escape.' His body was later recovered close to a stone-quarry in Sopore's Tujjar Sharief vicinity.
Meanwhile, the police have ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.
