In a direct setback to Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s ‘‘healing touch’’ policy, a newly-elected MLA of his People’s Democratic Party was today shot dead in Pampore, 19 km from Srinagar.As soon as 55-year-old Abdul Aziz Mir stepped out of a mosque after offering Friday prayers, a militant, wearing a phiran, pulled out a pistol and fired one shot from close range. Before the MLA’s six armed police guards could react, he vanished in the crowd.Mir — who is survived by two sons, four daughters and his wife — had joined PDP just before the Assembly elections, moving from the National Conference. He was a block president of the NC till he switched sides and got the ticket. Pampore had been held by the NC earlier and Mir wanted to contest but the NC didn’t oblige. Enjoying huge popularity in the area, Mir’s political career had been totally clean and he was never considered to be a target of the militants.Mir’s personal security guard, Abdul Qayoom, recalled the incident: ‘‘It was around 2.20 pm. He had just stepped out of the mosque and was shaking hands with the villagers. There was a huge crowd and we had tried to push them away but he stopped us. He wanted to meet the people. Then there was the sound of firing and he fell on me. The bullet had hit him in the back, on the left side. He was shouting for help. I grabbed him while my other colleagues ran after the militant but there was a lot of crowd. It was chaos all around.’’His colleague, Mohammad Ishaaq, had positioned himself two steps ahead of Mir and had no idea till Mir had fallen. ‘‘All of us fired in air. We couldn’t fire towards the direction in which the assailant had fled because there was a huge crowd. There would have been dozens of casualties,’’ he said.Konlibal village, which lies in the middle of saffron fields, was shattered. Hundreds of wailing villagers, mostly women, thronged Mir’s single-storeyed house to mourn. ‘‘He was a humble man and always stood by us through all these troubled years. We are shocked; why would anybody want to take his life?’’ said Ghulam Rasool, Mir’s neighbour, breaking down. ‘‘He would even accompany villagers if the security forces arrested anybody here,’’ recalled villager Ghulam Nabi Bhat. ‘‘We don’t understand why would militants take his life.’’ Mir’s nephew, Mohammad Ishaaq, sat quietly on the pavement. ‘‘I was there with him. I didn’t know till he shouted for help.I wish I was a bit closer to him,’’ he said.Superintendent of Police, Awantipore, Vijay Kumar said the militant had been identified by the villagers but they were scared. ‘‘Initial investigations point towards Hizbul Mujahideen. The militant was dressed in a blue phiran and was a local. He had taken advantage of the crowd and fired from a pistol fitted with a silencer,’’ he said. However, a hitherto unknown group, Save Kashmir, has claimed responsibility.‘‘It is outrageous that one militant armed with a pistol could kill him and eight policemen armed with AK-47’s and SLR’s could do nothing,’’ Kumar said, indicating that action would be taken. Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range, K Rajinder, also visited the spot.Mir’s family has been struck by this tragedy at a difficult time. His wife is bedridden after suffering serious burn injuries in an accident. His elder son and a daughter are in Delhi accompanying her ailing daughter, who is to undergo surgery. ‘‘There is hardly anybody from his family here. He had been camping her for the past one month and wanted to meet people before leaving for Jammu (the winter capital),’’ said Farooq Ahmad Bhat, Mir’s relative and party worker.PDP general secretary Tariq Hameed Qura met the family at the house. Mir’s body was kept inside and the funeral would take place tommorrow only after his children return from Delhi. Senior PDP leaders, including the CM and his daugher, Mehbooba Mufti, are expected to join the funeral.
