In Kani Khas village in north Kashmir바카라s Kupwara district, gloom descended on Sunday morning as news spread that Ghulam Rasool Magray, a 44-year-old labourer, had been shot dead by unknown gunmen late the previous night. Neighbours gathered outside the family바카라s modest home to offer condolences.
The killing comes just four days after the terror attack in Pahalgam, where 26 tourists were killed. A local man was also killed while trying to protect a tourist. Since then, security forces across Jammu and Kashmir have been on high alert.
Inside a small, single-storey home, Ghulam Rasool바카라s elderly mother, Hajra Begum, sat sobbing. 바카라There was a knock on our door at 10:30 PM, right after we바카라d finished dinner,바카라 she said. 바카라We had no electricity, and it was dark. I couldn바카라t see their faces, but I think there were two of them. They said they were from the army and had come for a search.바카라
Then, she heard the gunshots. 바카라They shot him, right outside our house. The last thing he cried out, 바카라Mouji (mother), they killed me.바카라바카라 Since her husband passed away, Hajra Begum had been living in the house with only her son.
He was rushed first to the Government Medical College in Handwara town and then referred to Srinagar in critical condition, where doctors declared him dead after some hours.
Next door, Magray바카라s brother lives with his wife and children. His sister-in-law, speaking through tears as she looked out the window, said the army only arrived nearly ninety minutes after the shooting. Her husband had been away that night.
바카라Ghulam Rasool was a shareef, honest man," she said. "He worked as a labourer. He was not married - he had some psychological problems, and it was difficult to find a match for him." She also denied claims circulating in some media reports that he was a social activist.
Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, a member of the J&K Legislative Assembly from the area, visited the family in the morning. "I was in constant touch with them," he told Outlook. "He was declared dead around 2 a.m. It바카라s unfortunate that none from the administration have shown up here yet. In times like this, it is our duty to stand with our people."
Magray바카라s death comes amid an intense security crackdown across Kashmir in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. More than 1,500 people have reportedly been detained over the past four days as authorities sweep through towns and villages, searching for those suspected of harbouring militant sympathies.
