Militants send a reminder

Two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it was 8216;8216;time to end the chapter of violence8217;8217; in Kashmir, death reare...

Two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it was 8216;8216;time to end the chapter of violence8217;8217; in Kashmir, death reared its head again when militants stormed this village in Budgam, killing six persons, four from a single family.

But the attack didn8217;t seem to be connected to the PM8217;s visit to the Valley. The militants were clearly out to settle old scores and wanted to terrorise families of the counter-insurgent group, Ikhwan. The militants apparently followed two Ikhwanis to their relative8217;s house, barged inside and opened fire, killing the two counter-insurgents and three others, including a 60-year-old woman. They then went to another house, a few hundred metres away, looking for the wife of a slain Ikhwani, and killed her too.

8216;8216;It was around 9.30 pm. Suddenly, a group of gunmen appeared at the door. They didn8217;t ask any questions. They came in and started shooting,8217;8217; recalled Abdul Majid Malik 30, who lost his elder brother Bashir Ahmad 8212; a government employee, cousin Fayaz Ahmad, brother-in-law and mother in the attack.

8216;8216;My mother raised her hands to plead with the militants. She was the first to be shot. She fell down, saying please have mercy, we are civilians,8217;8217; said Malik. 8216;8216;Then I could only hear gunshots and screams.8217;8217;

According to Malik, his brother-in-law, Farooq Ahmad, an Ikhwan activist, had come with a friend to celebrate Id.

8216;8216;He must have been here for 10-20 minutes when the militants came in. He had kept his gun aside and was chatting with us over tea. He couldn8217;t even move his hand,8217;8217; said Malik. 8216;8216;It8217;s a miracle that I am still alive. I somehow jumped into the gap between the bed and the wall. My brother fell on me after the bullets hit him,8217;8217; he recalled.

Since there was no electricity, a gas light was on. 8216;8216;Somehow the gas light went off. I was saved because of the dark. They thought none of us were alive,8217;8217; he said.

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Malik pointed at his six-year-old nephew Suhail. 8216;8216;He was in the room when they came, but he survived,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;Now there are two widows with four infants left in our family. They should have killed us all. We have survived but will be mourning the rest of our lives.8217;8217;

Nearby, Suhail watches as the women of the village wail. 8216;8216;I ran away when they started firing,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;There were three-four of them.8217;8217;

Some women were in the kitchen. They were warned to sit silently. When the firing stopped and the militants ran away, the women started screaming for help. 8216;8216;It was after sometime when the neighbours came in. They were carrying a lantern. I saw them and came out. There was blood everywhere. My phiran was wet. I had my brother8217;s blood on my beard,8217;8217; said Malik.

His next-door neigbour, Ghulam Rasool, said he and his family rushed out on hearing the women scream. 8216;8216;We went in and saw this massacre,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;They all died within five minutes. Dozens of bullets had hit each one of them.8217;8217;

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After leaving Malik8217;s house, the militants pushed the counter-inusurgent8217;s motor-cycle into the drain and headed straight to the house of Zareera, the wife of a slain Ikhwan activist, and killed her as well. Her three minor children witnessed the killing.

Although the attack happened a day ahead of the PM8217;s visit, it appeared to be a localised affair where militants found an opportunity to kill Ikhwanis in a village which has no police or security cover.

Muzamil Jaleel

Muzamil Jaleel is a Deputy Editor at The Indian Express and is widely recognized as one of India’s most authoritative voices on Jammu & Kashmir, national security, and internal affairs. With a career spanning over 30 years, he has provided definitive on-the-ground reportage from the heart of the Kashmir conflict, bearing witness to historic political transitions and constitutional shifts. Expertise and Investigative Depth Muzamil’s work is characterized by a rare combination of ground-level immersion and high-level constitutional analysis. His expertise includes: Conflict & Geopolitics: Decades of reporting on the evolution of the Kashmir conflict, the Indo-Pak peace process, and the socio-political dynamics of the Himalayan region. Constitutional Law: Deep-dive analysis of Article 370 and Article 35A, providing clarity on the legal and demographic implications of their abrogation in 2019. Human Rights & Accountability: A relentless investigator of state and non-state actors, uncovering systemic abuses including fake encounters and the custodial death of political workers. International War Reporting: Beyond South Asia, he provided on-the-spot coverage of the final, decisive phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. Landmark Exposés & Impact Muzamil’s reporting has repeatedly forced institutional accountability and shaped national discourse: The Kashmir Sex Scandal (2006): His investigative series exposed a high-profile exploitation nexus involving top politicians, bureaucrats, and police officers, leading to the sacking and arrest of several senior officials. Fake Encounters: His reports blew the lid off cases where innocent civilians were passed off as "foreign terrorists" by security forces for gallantry awards. SIMI Investigations: He conducted a massive deep-dive into the arrests of SIMI members, using public records to show how innocuous religious gatherings were often labeled as incriminating activities by investigative agencies. The Amarnath Land Row: Provided critical context to the 2008 agitation that polarized the region and altered its political trajectory. Over the years, Muzamil has also covered 2002 Gujarat riots, Bhuj earthquake, assembly elections in Bihar for Indian Express. He has also reported the peace process in Northern Ireland, war in Sri Lanka and national elections in Pakistan for the paper. Awards and Fellowships His "Journalism of Courage" has been honored with the industry's most prestigious accolades: Four Ramnath Goenka Awards: Recognized for J&K Reportage (2007), On-the-Spot Reporting (2009), and Reporting on Politics and Government (2012, 2017). Kurt Schork Award: From Columbia University for international journalism. Sanskriti Award: For excellence in Indian journalism and literature. IFJ Tolerance Prize: For his empathetic and nuanced reporting in South Asia. International Fellowships: Served as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and worked with The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times in London. He has also received Chevening fellowship and a fellowship at the Institute of Social Studies, Hague, Netherlands. Professional Presence Current Location: New Delhi (formerly Bureau Chief, Srinagar). Education: Master’s in Journalism from Kashmir University. Social Media: Follow him for field insights and rigorous analysis on X (Twitter) @MuzamilJALEEL. ... Read More