12 yrs gone, they are sure that Pir will bail them out from poverty

Pir was 40 when a group of unidentified people abducted him from Limber village. Relatives and neighbours tried their best to trace him, but all their efforts failed. And 12 years after his disappearance, poor family waits for news about their bread-earner. "I want to know why my brother was abducted and then disappeared," says his brother Mohammad Shafi, who now helps his family. He is not alone, but villagers too chip in to help this poor family.

Even year's after Pir's disappearance, his wife and children are hopeful that he will return some day. "They have not left the hope of his return. His children and wife wait for him with a hope that he is going to bail them out from poverty."

His said some people had come to their house in mid September 1995. "Nobody in the family knew them. They were in a group and abducted my brother. That time they had promised that my brother will be back in the village within an hour. But there after we got no news about him," he said.

Fortune changed for the small family soon after Pir went missing. "We were living a good life. But after our brother went missing, his wife has to work hard to run her family affairs," said Shafi.

In fact, some villager's and relatives had met the then Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla. Later, both the officers had directed their juniors to help the family. "The help from the Government proved inadequate," he says.

Shafi also visited several jails in Baramulla and met official of various Army camps. But all of his efforts proved futile, too. "Nobody, either police, Army or intelligence agencies admitted of having any knowledge about my brother," said Shafi. Some villagers, however, claim that in mid 90's Limber village was frequented by Army as well as militants. "I am not sure who picked Pir. But, either they (abductors) were militants or counter-insurgents working for the Army," said Ghulam Mohammad a neighbour.

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