‘Victim’s brother in Pakistan since 1990’
Waris Fayaz
SRINAGAR: In a chilling late-night attack, unknown gunmen shot dead a man after ‘summoning’ him from his home in North Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district the victim Ghulam Rasool Magray (43) was targeted around 11 PM by unidentified gunmen, leaving his elderly mother devastated.
Relatives as well as the locals, said that the assailants called Magray out of his single-story traditional house before opening fire. The area was plunged in darkness, complicating identification, they said.
“There was no light… I couldn’t see who killed my son,” wailed Hajirah Begum (70), Magray’s mother said, as neighbors consoled her. “I have no one left now. The killers must be punished so no other mother suffers like this.”The unknown gunmen, who spoke in a mix of Kashmiri and Urdu, dragged my son out of his house, Magray’s mother, struggling through tears recounted.
“They hurled abuses at him while taking him downstairs and claimed they need to ‘conduct searches’. I didn’t understand what they were searching for… moments later, I heard gunshots”, elderly Hajirah said.
Sources reveal Magray’s brother had crossed over to Pakistan in 1990, raising questions about whether the family’s history played a role in the attack.
Neighbors, however, described the victim as a soft-spoken figure, making his killing even more senseless. “Magray was an innocent laborer working hard to feed his mother, what was his crime?”, a local said.
Legislator Sheikh Khursheed and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) leader, visited the grieving family, condemning the killing and slamming authorities for neglect.
“We demand justice. Innocent killings must stop,” Khursheed said.
He termed the killing as unfortunate, says this too is a terro attack. “We are non-violent people, we don’t want any kind of violence. These things are unacceptable and needs to be investigated thoroughly”, Khursheed added.
He alleged not a single civil admin official has visited this family. Following the incident, Security forces launched cordon and search operation to track the attackers, however, no group has claimed responsibility so far.
Notably, Ghulam Rasool Magray of Kandi Khas village in Kupwara was shot at his home last night and was soon shifted to a nearby hospital, where from he was referred to SMHS Srinagar, Magray succumbed to his injures later on.
The killing follows Kashmir’s bloodiest attack, the Pahalgam massacre, that left 26 dead including a local and several others injured.
