Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 4: Expressing deep anguish over the killing of a “mentally unsound” person in Shopian, senior PDP leader and former Finance Minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari today demanded an immediate ex-gratia relief and a job for the bereaved family, at an earliest.
“I am told that Rayees Ahmad Wani, a resident of Kulgam’s Begam village who became the victim of unbridled power near the fence of an army camp at Pahnoo village of district Shopian has a large family without any permanent source of income,” he added.
The PDP senior leader observed that the height of bureaucratic callousness can be well gauged by the fact that nobody from the Governor led administration has visited the bereaved family to extend an apology or express condolences with it, sofar.
“The specially-abled people have virtually no takers in Jammu and Kashmir. This is most unfortunate that the cold blooded murder of a mentally challenged person has been disregarded and ignored as an isolated incident even by the champions of human rights in Kashmir,” Bukhari said.
He said that the incident did not evoke any response from the power echelons, probably, as the deceased had no political affiliations or any connections with the power corridors in the state. “This speaks volumes about the level of our insensitivity towards precious human lives that we lose almost on daily basis under the smokescreen of conflict in Kashmir,” he observed.
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family, the former Finance Minister urged the Governor led administration to sanction at least Rs 25 lakh besides a job in favour of the bereaved family.