Srinagar, June 20: Jammu Kashmir Bank in the second week of this month granted jobs to the widows of two private security guards Javaid Ahmed Bhat and Muzaffar Ahmad, who were killed in May 2017 by unidentified gunmen while manning the cash van in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Both these guards were employees of a private security firm working under an arrangement with bank.
Reports said that it was only after the intervention of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the JK Bank took the decision of granting jobs to the two widows. Besides jobs, JK Bank Chairman Parvez Ahmed also gave Cash Certificates worth Rs 4.75 Lacs to each of the four kids of slain guards amounting to Rs 19 Lacs. The sympathetic view taken by Bank was lauded by all and everyone appreciated both the Chief Minister and the Bank authorities for at least helping the victim families in the nick of the time.
However, the Bank’s role has been altogether different when it comes to the cold blooded murder of an ATM Guard from Srinagar city.
Para-military troopers pumped 350 pellets in the body of ATM Guard Reyaz Ahmed Shah (21) on the fateful night of August 2, 2016. According to his family, X-ray report said his vital organs-including lungs and kidneys-were ruptured by the minuscule metallic pellets.
Shakeel Ahmed, the brother of victim ATM guard, resident of Chattabal Srinagar told news agency CNS that his brother was a security guard at an ATM at Habbakadal area. “While leaving for home on that fateful night on a white scooty, he was targeted by Indian Central Reserve Police Force with pellets. “It was a time when Kashmir was up in arms against Indian rule. People were killed, maimed and blinded by government forces. CRPF troopers probably fired pellets at my brother after finding him moving on a scooty at deserted road at around 11.pm.”
Police registered an FIR (numbered 57/2016) at the Karan Nagar police station against “security forces” in Riyaz’s death and investigation is still going on.
“We don’t want to go into detail. The reality is that Reyaz is no more and he became prey to the pellets fired by CRPF. The irony is that neither the State Government nor the Jammu Kashmir Bank condemned the killing. Leave aside the condemnation, they even didn’t express sympathies with the bereaved family,” said a relative to this reporter.
“We are happy if the Bank on the directions of the Chief Minister, provided jobs and cash assistance to the families of two security guards killed in Kulgam attack. May be they were rewarded as the attackers were militants while we were ignored as the killers in our case are from pro-establishment,” said Shakeel Ahmed.
“Ironically CRPF refuses to accept responsibility in Riyaz’s death, Do they mean to say that the common man has access to that weapon? We all know militants don’t use pellet guns, only Jammu Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force personnel are in possession of such weapons,” he added.
The family is still waiting for the day when Bank will extend helping hand to them. The chances are bleak but hope surmounts despair. (CNS)