Revenge tragedy without an end

IT all began with a single shot. On January 6, 1993, unidentified militants killed a BSF trooper at Sopore8217;s main market, snatched his ...

IT all began with a single shot. On January 6, 1993, unidentified militants killed a BSF trooper at Sopore8217;s main market, snatched his service rifle and sped in the deep narrow alleys of the town. An hour later, a group of irate BSF personnel turned up in the market, reportedly firing indiscriminately and sprinkling kerosene and gun powder on shops and houses. This is the story of Sopore8217;s infamous massacre which left 43 civilians dead and more than 350 shops and houses razed in just five hours.

Twelve years down, the file pertaining to the massacre is lying with the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI and no one has been found guilty or punished. But in apple town Sopore, memories of the massacre have not left families of victims and residents.

A day after the massacre, lawyer Syed Illyas, chairman Anjuman Moin-ul-Islam Sopore, lodged an FIR against the 94 battalion of BSF. The following day, the BSF lodged a counter FIR. After 12 years the case has not seen any progress and the only evidence with the police are two moth-eaten papers8212; the two FIRs.

Station House Officer Sopore, Khurshid Khan remembers this case while scanning an old file. 8216;8216;The case is still under investigation and the file is with the CBI,8217;8217; says Khan. 8216;8216;Many victims are yet to get compensation in absence of a report.8217;8217;

In the FIR report lodged by Syed IIyas, he said troops opened fire on innocent civilians without any provocation. The complainant in his report termed this massacre as planned with a motto to teach a 8216;lesson of revenge8217; to the residents of Sopore.

In defence, the BSF lodged a counter FIR against the unidentified militants. The report further says the militants hiding in houses opened fire on troops and the forces retaliated in self-defence. In the cross-fire, a number of people were killed.

KASHMIR came to a stop for weeks after the Sopore massacre. There was a complete shutdown for ten days. Residents of the town were so frightened that they migrated to neighboring villages and towns. To pacify an angry Kashmir, a CBI investigation was ordered. But, in these 12 years the CBI or the enquiry commission has never visited the town or the police station.

	CASE FILE
	No time to visit? 8226; On January 6, 1993, militants killed a BSF trooper at Sopore8217;s main market 8226; In the return fire, about 43 people were reported killed 8226; The case was handed over to the CBI but eyewitnesses and families of victims complain no one has recorded their statement yet Story continues below this ad

Says Noor-ud-din Dand, former assistant commissioner and now patron of the Traders Federation Sopore: 8216;8216;To take revenge of a single killing, dozens of innocents were charred alive in their shops and house.8217;8217;

Dand says he can never forget the tragedy, which left many children orphaned and young girls widows. 8216;8216;My five shops were set on fire by the BSF. Nobody, either from CBI or police has so far recorded our statements.8217;8217; In fact, it took many shopkeepers more than three years to settle their insurance claims and that too only after they compromised. 8216;8216;The scars of Sopore massacre will remain fresh in our minds until the guilty are not punished.8217;8217;

The septuagenarian officer-turned-businessman demands fresh probe of the massacre. 8216;8216;The case is with CBI. Let them come to our town and record statements. Till date, we feel we have been denied justice in the world8217;s largest democratic state.8217;8217;

Abdul Ahad Mir, a 55-year-old businessman is a witness to the massacre. He too sustained burn injuries and was hospitalised for six months. 8216;8216;I escaped injured; it was a miracle. But the memories still haunt me as scores were burnt alive before my eyes. My wait for justice will never end,8217;8217; says Mir. Sopore is waiting with him.