Heart rendering scenes witnessed at residence
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Oct 8: Deepak Chand Mehra, a migrant teacher who was gunned down by terrorists yesterday along with Principal of Government School Eidgah, Srinagar, Supinder Kaur was given a touching adieu today. Hundreds of mourners with tears yelling from their eyes joined the funeral procession which started from his Patoli Mangotrian residence to Shakti Nagar, Cremation Ground here where the body was consigned to flames.
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After performing the rituals at his residence, the body was wrapped in Tricolur before the funeral procession started for cremation ground. The hell has broken on the family and mourners faced a tough time in consoling the family members and relatives of Deepak who were wailing and sobbing. Tragic and heart rendering scenes were witnessed and the words fail to console the family members. The three year old daughter of Deepak was all stunned to see the horrible scenes and grieved family members as she is too little to understand the realities of life.
To her, Deepak was in fast sleep as she could not comprehend what has happened to her loving and caring father. Though it was a reality but she does not know that she could never see her father in rest of her life. She was looking towards the people silently entering the house to console the family and pay their condolenses.
The people from all walks of life joined the funeral procession. They included leaders of BJP, Congress, Kashmiri Pandit leaders, migrant employees, representatives of some local organizations, police and civil officers. They bade a touching adieu to Deepak. Heart rendering scenes were also witnessed as the pyre of Deepak was lit by his relatives at Shakti Nagar Cremation Ground.
Earlier, a pall of gloom descended as Deepak’s mortal remains arrived from Srinagar at his Patoli Mangotrian residence during midnight with hundreds of people waiting outside. Deepak’s mother Kanta Devi and wife Anuradha were inconsolable.
“Just give me Deepak back. I do not want a job. I don’t want any thing” a wailing Kanta Devi said. Kana Devi who along with her family migrated from Kashmir in 1990 during emergence of terrorism, said the Government could not ensure security of her son, who had to work in Kashmir for a living and paid with his life.
His mother said “I did not know that after migrating from Kashmir in 1990 to save ourselves from Ghost of terrorism we will send Deepak again to Kashmir to be devoured by the enemies of humanity”.
Anuradha said “We want nothing. I want my husband back. Can the Government bring him back?”. Deepak’ s cousin Vicky said “It is return of 1990 situation in the Valley. Selective killings of Hindus forced Kashmiri Pandits to run away from Valley. It is same situation today. The Government has failed to protect us. It is totally security lapse and intelligence failure”.
He said he tried to call Deepak on his mobile, after he came to know about the incident, but it was not reachable. “Later, some terrorist picked up a call from the family and threatened us too”, he claimed.
The colleagues and friends of Deepak said “For how long this blood bath will continue in Kashmir.
What safety the minorities have in Kashmir the way the two teachers, a businessman, a hawker and two cops of minority community were gunned down there”?.
“This is a serious issue and the civil society in Kashmir should come forward in stopping such killings as this will have serious consequences,” they added.
According to family, Deepak had returned to Kashmir on Sunday to rejoin his duty after performing the rituals of the first death anniversary of his father Lal Chand and the family had never thought that it will be his last visit to Kashmir where from he will return as dead.
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