Bengal families mourn deaths of their loved ones
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My father used to go to Kashmir every year in search of work. Every year, he used to bring a new dress for me when he returned from Kashmir SUHANA KHATUN, Daughter of one of the labourers killed in Kashmir
Murshalim Sheikh, 45, who was among the six migrant labourers shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)’s Kulgam on Tuesday, had spoken to his daughter three days earlier on Saturday and promised he would return home in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district soon.
Suhana Khatun, the daughter who is a class 8 student, said her father would go to J&K around this time to find work. “We have 10 cottahs [less than an acre] of land in Sagardighi [Murshidabad]. It does not yield crops throughout the year. My father used to go to Kashmir around this time every year in search of work,” said Suhana.
“Every year, he used to bring a new dress for me when he returned from Kashmir.”
Murshalim Sheikh was killed along with Naimuddin Sheikh, 42, Rafikul Sheikh, 23, Rafique Sheikh, 45 and Kamruddin Sheikh, 35, in the fifth attack in two weeks on non-Kashmiris in J&K. Johiruddin Sarkar, 22, was wounded in the attack.
Naimuddin Sheikh’s brother, Joshimuddin Sheikh, said the latter went to Kashmir in search of work 25 days ago. “He worked as a daily wager there in apple orchards and rice fields,” he said.
Joshimuddin Sheikh said his brother had been going to Kashmir for the past 18 years. “He used to stay there for about three months before returning to the village in Sagardighi,” he added.
Sarkar’s wife, Paramita Bibi, said they got married just a couple of months ago and that her husband had gone to Kashmir for the first time. “I just hope that my husband will come back safely. I want the government to ensure that my husband comes back home safely. Once he is back, I will never ever allow him to go back to Kashmir,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying.
Separately, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asked the Centre to carry out a “strong investigation” into the killings as she announced ~5 lakh compensation each for the families of the five. “In a most unfortunate incident in Kashmir yesterday, five innocent labourers were brutally killed in a pre-planned manner. We are totally shocked! Presently there are no political activities in Kashmir and entire law and order is with the Government of India. We, therefore, demand a strong investigation...”
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sayantan Basu said Banerjee’s statement has pained them. “Instead of criticising the terrorists, she seems to have indicated a conspiracy. We wonder what she meant by real truth.”
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was among the politicians to visit Sagardighi to meet the families of the five, said that the Union government invited select European parliamentarians for a tour Kashmir to portray that everything in Kashmir is normal. “The Pakistanbacked terrorists, on the other hand, are trying to prove that nothing is normal in Kashmir. The common people are dying in this conflict. Had the foreign parliamentarians not gone to Kashmir, the terrorists might not have killed the innocent labourers...”
Chowdhury said ta lack of job opportunities in West Bengal was forcing people to migrate.
Hitting back, Mosharaf Hossain, district leader of ruling Trinamool Congress and zilla parishad, Sabhadhipati, said: “The government has several schemes and many are deriving their benefits. However some unskilled labourers go to other states lured by extra income. We have to think of ways so that they don’t do so.”