Srinagar: In occupied Kashmir, the family of a youth, Younus Maqbool Ganai, who was martyred by Indian troops in Badgam on Saturday, has said that the killing of their son has brought ‘relief’ for them as they hope that the Indian forces will not harass them anymore.
Younus Ganai’s father, Maqbool Ganai in an interview said that when he heard about the martyrdom of his son he told his wife that all the harassment was over now, as whatever their son did was for them to live with peace.
Maqbool Ganai said that Younus Ganai had left home a month ago to escape from police harassment. “I once went to police to enquire about my son. They locked me up for 13 days,†he said. “When I heard about his killing I told my wife that all the harassment was over now. Whatever my son did was for us to live in peace,†he said. He falsely hopes that all the harassment, torture and humiliation for the last several years would now end.
As the news of the death of Younus spread, hundreds of mourners gathered outside his house to attend his funeral before the body was buried.
Maqbool Ganai said that he was of course battling an unendurable pain of losing the eldest of his three sons who helped him run a small convenience store in the village.
The bereaved father said that his martyred son was being harassed and tortured continuously by Indian police since 2013 when he was seen participating in a protest demonstration. Younus was arrested that year and what followed was a series of raids and harassment, his father said.
He said that the police booked his son in a false case of acquiring arms, which resulted in his frequent arrests and raids by the police and the army at his home. He said that some police officials had demanded Rs 50,000 for closing the case against his son.