by Tasavur Mushtaq
SRINAGAR
Abdul Rashid Parray, former employee of Rural Development Department Sunday night was attacked by suspected militants at his home in Hajin Bandipora, leaving him dead on the spot.
His death is end to many cases in which he was wanted, accused, involved or convicted. However, there are no reports of him ever been jailed for any of the cases involving murders.
Rashid Billa during Ikhwan days
Wearing a white short beard, Abdul Rashid was infamously known as Rashid Billa, a former notorious renegade of Ikhwan era in Kashmir.
Billa has many bone-chilling incidents to his name.
After few years of dormancy, he was seen again making noises in 2015 after former defence minister of India Manohar Parikar’s statement that “terrorists have to be neutralized only through terrorists”. He was quoted having said: “I would be once again made Ikhwan commander on June 3, 2015.”
Involved in many cases of brutalities along with his master Kuka Parray, Billa was haunted by this 21-yearold case of Saderkote till his death this night. In other cases, he had no follow up or there was nobody to pursue the cases.
On fateful day of October 5, 1996, gunmen of Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon led by Billa barged into Sadrekoot-Bala in Hajin.
They first knocked the door of Ghulam Qadir Dar. As soon as the door was opened, Billa along with his men shot dead four members of his family; wife Hajira Begum, daughter Jawahira Akhtar, son Abdul Salam Dar and nephew Abdur Rashid Dar. It was blood soaked courtyard. Nobody could scream or cry for the fear of reprisal.
The four killings were not enough.
His next destination was house of Saif-u-Din Dar in the same village. Before Dar could open the door completely, he was instantly shot dead.
Next were the two Dar’s; Ghulam Rasool Dar and Ghulam Nabi Dar. Both killed on the spot with their families looking on, helplessly.
The seven killings had one provocation; the victims’ support to National Conference in the election. A day after results were declared, Billa led his men to take the revenge. FIR with no 125/1996 stands registered but no arrests made.
A voice against Ikhawan meant death those days.
So terrified was the village that they somehow stopped a stone laden truck that could ferry the injured to the hospital, witnesses said. Interestingly some of the gunmen who accompanied Billa to the deadly massacre are still alive.
Other case that was well documented involving Billa was that of Gulzar Ahmad Bhat.
On January 22, 1999, when Gulzar Ahmad Bhat failed to pay extortion money to Rashid Biilla, he directed army of local camp to pick Bhat. Bhat’s only mistake was that he had torn apart the poster of Kuka parray during election campaigning. The revenge was to pay Rs 50,000.
“They raided us and said that my son had damaged the poster, he has damaged the eye of Kukka Parray,” his mother said. “So we will damage his same eye.”
The Bhat’s family recorded in video that extortion money was paid but still Bhat was taken by army in nearby forests where he was tied to a mine and a boulder and blown to pieces. Later family was threatened to drop the charges and remove FIR. The fear was to the extent that family did not pursue the case of killing.
Billa’s master Muhammad Yousuf Parray alias Kuka Parray was folk singer and was known as Jamsheed Shirazi. He picked up the gun to become a militant and later surrendered to head the reign of terror, Ikhawan ul Muslimoon.
A ruthless killer, Kuka Parary became lawmaker later in 1996, by deafeatin Akbar Lone. In 2002, however, he lost to Lone. Two years later, he was killed.
His other men also met the same fate. On June 21, 1998, nephew of Kukka Parray, Manzoor Parray, alias Wafadar Khan was killed in a landmine blast.
Setha Gujru alias Mohammad Ameen Wani who had 90 cases of murder registered against him and who had boasted to the weekly Chattan about having killed 300 persons was killed in 2001.
After Parray’s death, Billa became senior leader of Awami League.
In June 2016, Billa was declared as proclaimed offender by court and his property was sealed. Even after that, he continuously threatened the victim families of ‘dire consequences’.
With his death, curtains fell on a long era of Billa’s abuse of Ikhwan power. The killing took place in the area once known as capital of counter insurgency, Hajin. The man is no more, but the memories may haunt for many years to come.
For most of the last two decades, Billa ensured that he retains his power. Nobody touched with his government job, he was never arrested and was protected instead. “I had gone to the police station and I saw the case file of our murders moth-eaten,” one of Dars’ of Saderkote, who lost many of his family members, said. “I do not know who was protecting him against such a massive volume of evidences for all these years.
