SHOPIAN
Constable Javed Ahmad, 25, was shot dead in Kulgam district by suspected militants after he was abducted from his native Vehil village of Shopian. His bullet ridden body was found on Friday morning. The police claimed that abduction involved three militants. The slain, who was the youngest family member, is survived by parents, and three siblings. Several hundred villagers attend his funeral held in his native village.
PAKISTAN
Kashmiri sound is going to echo for the first time in the history of Pakistan’s Coke Studio – a much acclaimed musical series. The latest season of Coke Studio which kicked off on July 3, is called Coke Studio Explorer. The Kashmiri song Mehjoor’s Ha Gulo is performed by a Muzaffarabad based broadcaster, Altaf Mir and his team ‘Qasmi’. This season will feature new talent from all regions of Pakistan.
CALIFORNIA
A Californian duo, Iara Mandyn and Jamie DeWolf, had the first mermaid shoot in Dal Lake. Last week they posted a few photographs that show the lady in Dal Lake in a mermaid costume. The mermaids shoot aside, the duo claim to have shot a series of videos showing victims of state violence in Kashmir. They are going to release interviews in next two months. “It will be a one of the first comprehensive reports on human rights abuses in Kashmir,” they write on Facebook.
SRINAGAR
A Sikh lady was found hanging inside her room at her in-laws house in Mahjoor Nagar, Srinagar on June 29. Her parents claim that it’s a case of murder, however, police investigations are yet to arrive at any conclusion and no FIR has been lodged so far. The family and neighbours have staged protests twice in the press colony. They say it’s a case of domestic abuse and blamed her husband for her death.
BARZULLA
The mystery surrounding identity of Mudassir Ahmad Bhat, 32, a resident Barzullah, who according to his family was one of the slain militants killed in Kupwara recently, is about to solve as his father’s blood sample was taken for DNA testing.
Mudassir who went missing in January 2017, had crossed over to Pakistan and received armed training there. Once back, he joined Lashkar-e-Toiba and was operating in north Kashmir. He was injured during the gunfight in Kachama forests of Kupwara, and later died. His family staged protests in Srinagar asking police to hand-over his body, which was buried at an undisclosed location in Kupwara. His family identified him from a picture shown to them by the army.
