Family hit by twin tragedies

Srinagar, Dec 12 : In an alley of congested Batamaloo locality of Srinagar, the family of Nazir Ahmed Sheikh is finding it hard to accept that their son has been sentenced to life in a case dating 22 years back. The family has been hit by twin tragedies as Nazir’s mother Raja Begum died only 10 days back.

Nazir, a car mechanic, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Jammu court in connection with the murder of a BSF officer in 1990. After the murder, Nazir was arrested along with three others - Showkat Ahmed Khan of Nishat, Farooq Ahmed and Farooq Ahmed Mir. While Showkat will serve life imprisonment with Nazir, Farooq Ahmed has been sentenced for five years. Mir is the only person acquitted in the case.

According to the family, Nazir has already served 14 years in jail in connection with the case. “He was in jail from 1990 to 2002. Then he was rearrested in 2004 and released in 2006. After that he was regularly attending the court,” says his sister Masnaz, who was married off while Nazir was in jail. “Nazir used to borrow money from relatives and friends to attend the court,” she says.

“Our father died of hypertension in 2004 after Nazir’s re-arrest,” she says.

Masnaz says that four days after her mother’s death, Nazir was summoned to Jammu court. “But he did not go as he was very disturbed and depressed with the death of his mother. When he today attended the court in Jammu he showed them all the documents to justify his absence during last hearing,” she says.

“But we never knew he will be sentenced to life imprisonment. He was hopeful of his release as he always used to tell us that he was forced to accept the murder during torture in custody,” Masnaz sighs.

In another corner of the old fashioned house, Nazir’s wife Parveena is motionless as a stone, only tears flow unabated from her eyes. Nazir’s son Moomin, a class first student, silently looks at whosoever talks.

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