By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net,
Narbal (District Budgam, J&K): Even as Kashmir continues to mourn the death of a youth shot dead in forest area in Tral, the troubled valley witnessed another killing.
Police shot dead Sohail Ahmad Sofi, 16, a class 10 student, in Central Kashmir’s Narbal on Sunday, April 18 as he had moved outside his house to enquire about the noise coming from an adjacent Sumo stand (public taxi stand). The incident comes close on the heels of Khalid Muzzafar Wani’s death, shot dead in Kamla forest in Tral area in an alleged gun battle.
Sohail Ahmed Sofi the 16 year old slain youth who was shot dead by JK Police in Narbal Area of Central Kashmir
Initially, the police officials blamed Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel’s for the incident but later a police spokesperson told a press conference on April 18 itself that preliminary investigation suggested that two of their men – constable Javid Ahmad and assistant sub inspector (ASI) Manzoor Ahmed – were involved in the regrettable killing of the boy.
As one walked via lanes of Narbal leading towards Sohail Sofi’s home, one can see children as small as seven years, wearing paper caps painted green, inscribed with Quranic verses, tied to their foreheads. These children showed victory sign for camera to convey that they are willing to fight for justice to the family.
Within a moderate three room house in main town of Narbal, Sohail’s mother Saleema Banoo is sitting inside the room with a group of women and men from his neighborhood surrounding her. Explaining the sequence of events which led to young Sohail’s death, she told TwoCircles.net: “That day, separatists had given a call for bandh. I went outside to enquire about the situation and found everything normal. I asked Sohail to get ready for the school. He wore his uniform and asked me to search for his socks. Suddenly there was lot of noise coming from the adjacent Sumo stand. Sohail went outside to inquire about the noise and within a short span of time, his friend came running home and broke the unfortunate news.”
After being shot, Sohail was taken to the JVC Hospital, Bemina where doctors proclaimed him ‘brought dead’. The bullet was hit on his back, which pierced through his heart, killing him instantaneously, they said.
An eyewitness, Munir Ahmad, a local Sumo driver, present at the time of the incident, told TwoCircles.net: “ASI Manzoor Ahmad alias Manzoor Kala initially called Sohail, who seemed to be standing nearby, and slapped him three to four times. When we intervened only then he let him go. As Sohail was walking towards home, this ASI shouted loudly ‘Javid Shoot’ and the constable Javid Ahmed pulled the trigger.”
A group of kids wearing piece of painted green paper inscribed with Quranic verses and showing victory story sign in Narbal Town of Central Kashmir Budgam District
Munir added that Sohail tried to save himself from bullets and ducked down but the bullet pierced from his lower back towards the heart.
Initially, maintaining silence over the involvement of its officials in the killing, later in the evening, police accepted the fact that preliminary investigation unveiled the prima facie involvement of their two officials. The constable and the ASI were arrested same evening. The FIR by police, TCN has a copy of it, clearly states that Standard Operation Procedure was not followed properly by the security forces.
Another eye witness, Suno driver Amir Ahmad Sofi, Sohail’s elder brother, who too was present at the Sumo stand at the time of incident, alleged that “the FIR has mentioned that there were Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in Sumo stand. It is totally baseless as there was only a single picket of police jeep carrying three J&K policemen.”
“I saw only three policemen out of whom constable Javid shot my brother on the direct orders of ASI Maznoor Ahmad,” he added.
Coping with the death of their beloved son, the family members replied in negative about the prospects of justice in the case. “We don’t expect any justice delivery by the laws of the state as the case is being investigated by those who killed our son,” they said.
A group of kids with a self designed paper art in memory of Sohail Ahmed Sofi while roaming and displaying it to the locals
“Neither we expect justice nor do we need any compensation. Will their compensation of Rs 10 lakh bring back our Sohail? In return, we will give them Rs 20 lakh to bring back our Sohail. Can they bring him back?” family members told Twocircles.net.
In a corner of the room, Ishrat, Sohai’s elder sister, a specially-abled child since birth, is curiously observing the people coming to her house, possibly not knowing the full implication of the family’s misfortune. But one grim reality is clearly visible from her pale face that her brother is dead and would never come back to take care of her. “They killed him. I miss Sohail Bhaiyya very much,” she said.
The neighbours of Sohail Ahmed Sofi remembers him as religious and a shy guy who never participated in any incident of stone pelting. “What happened to Sohail is very unfortunate. He was a religious guy and used to play here (pointing at a small ground) with the small children of our locality. On that unfortunate day, no one in the locality had eaten anything,” said Mubeena Banoo, Sofi’s neighbour, who visited the family with her ailing mother.