Srinagar, June 21: Restlessly gazing at every mourner at her house at Noorbagh, Jalla Begum is yet to comprehend that her son, Javaid Ahmad Malla has been killed.
 “Oh! My son where are you. Come soon, I have kept the food ready for you,” Jalla yelled as her husband Ghulam Ahmad Malla tried to console her. After some moments, she spoke her heart out. “Javaid went to participate in the funeral our relative Rafiq Ahmad Bangroo, but only his body returned,” she said and broke down.
As some relatives showed Javaid’s photograph with a smiling face, his mother instantly snatched and showered kisses on it. “The killers had fired on his neck. He was a shy boy and had never killed an insect, not to talk of pelting stones. He can’t die and leave us alone - please see if he is alive,” she said and rushed outside the house. Some women tried to console her but in vain. “She is in a deep shock. Let her cry and understand that her son is no more,” some relatives suggested. But she kept on moving around as if searching for her beloved.
 Cries and wails rented the locality as Javaid’s relatives mourned his death in a tent. “Our beloved you were yet to see the World. We were eager to see you as a groom but saw your coffin,” the relatives cried.
 Javaid -17 was the youngest among three siblings including a sister. Due to abject poverty, he was forced to discontinue his studies and work in a bag manufacturing factory at Khanmoh. He used to visit home once in a month.
 “But he returned home a few weeks ago after suffering with jaundice. We cooked separate food for him. On the fateful day, Javaid accompanied me to offer Fateah to Rafiq. Suddenly there was commotion and I heard gunshots only to find him in a pool of blood in a lane. With his death my world has been shattered,” said his father, Ghulam Ahmad Malla.
 Neighbors and relatives throughout the day made a beeline to Javaid’s house. All roads and lanes leading to the house were dotted with stones and angry protesters who were resting after fighting day-long pitched battles with troopers.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST