Sopur, Apr 14: To reach a cricket ground for playing a T-20 match proved fatal for 17-year old Zubair Ahmed Bhat.
He along with his teammates had returned home on Tuesday to have lunch after winning a cricket match in the morning session. “We were very happy and were finalizing the strategy for our next game, but our joy proved short lived as we had not even dreamt about what destiny had in store for us,” narrated Zubair’s team mates and broke down.
 “After winning the T-20 match at Tuilbal ground in the morning he was jubilant. He had come back home for lunch with his colleagues as they had to play another match on the same venue in the afternoon,” said his father, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, 50. “My son had inherited cricketing skills from me,’ he added.
 “At about 2:30 pm Zubair and his friends went along the banks of Jhelum to reach the ground as CRPF and SOG men were guarding the road. He along with his colleagues went through this alternate route to save themselves from the wrath of the forces,” Bhat said. “The troopers cornered them and pelted stones on them forcing them to jump into the river and one of the stones hit Zubair on his head. He didn’t know how to swim and he cried for help .One of the locals Mehrajuddin Radoo rushed to help him but CRPF and SOG men did not allow him to proceed. They even fired tear smoke canisters at the fishermen who wanted to help my son.”
 “After the death of my first son we had pinned all hopes on Zubair but……” Bhat said.
 “Both my sons have died now who will offer fateha at my grave,” he said a wept bitterly.
 Life has not been easy for Ghulam Hassan Bhat, in 1994 paramilitary BSF troopers torched his house and in 2006 his elder son, Ehsan-ul-Haque was shot dead by the unidentified gunmen, and once again tragedy has struck his family.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 IST