3-year-old succumbs, laid to rest next to his father in Sopore

The banality of tragedy in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Three-year-old Burhan Bashir, who was critically wounded in an attack in north Kashmir’s Sopore town Friday evening, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital here on Saturday morning.

Burhan was shifted in a critical condition to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, where he was operated upon by a team of doctors. However despite their best efforts, Burhan succumbed to his injuries Saturday morning.

Burhan was wounded and his father Bashir Ahmed Bhat, a former militant, was shot dead on Friday evening when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them in north Kashmir’s Sagipora , Sopore. The three-year-old was in the arms of his father at the time of the attack.

Police said that gunmen had initially lobbed a grenade towards them, which did not explode and later opened fire.

A pall of gloom descended in Bhat Mohalla of Sagipora as the body of Burhan arrived there. Later, hundreds of locals carried his body in a procession to the family’s ancestral graveyard and the mourners including men and children were seen wailing and women beating their chests.

While Bashir was buried late last night, Burhan, a nursery class student, was buried in a grave next to him amid sobs and tears.

In May and June this year, Sopore and its adjoining areas witnessed six mysterious killings that sparked panic in the area. Those killed included separatists sympathizers and also former militants.

The police had blamed the Lashkar-e-Islam, a breakaway faction of the Hizbul Mujahideen, headed by Abdul Qayoom Najar for these killings.

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