Javid Ahmed, 31, working as a senior correspondent with a Srinagar-based English daily, died after suffering a massive heart attack in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday.
As per reports, Javid, a resident of Watergam, Rafiabad was on his way to Srinagar in a passenger vehicle when he suddenly fell unconscious after suffering a heart attack in Pattan. Javid had pursued post graduation from University of Madras and worked as an intern with several newspapers before joining daily ‘Rising Kashmir.’ He was covering the security and defense related issues.
On Thursday, Javid was on the way to Srinagar for attending his professional duties but suffered a heart attack. Before embarking on his journey for Srinagar, Javid had dropped a relative at Sopore on his motorcycle from where he took the passenger vehicle. He was rushed to a trauma hospital at Pattan, where doctors declared him brought dead. Javid was laid to rest at his village on Thursday evening. Hundreds of people from all walks of life took part in his Namaz-e-Janaza.
Soon after the news of Javid’s death broke out, his colleagues and friends took to social media, expressing their heartfelt tributes.
“Post-August 5, after the abrogation of Article 370, when the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded into two union territories, followed by internet clampdown, Javid became a great resource not only for the organisation he worked for, but for the whole media fraternity. He would be stationed at the government media centre, established by the Department of Information and Public Relations in Srinagar where he became friends with many journalists,” wrote one of his friends in a condolence message on Facebook.
Another journalist Irfan Yatoo said: “It is too hard to say goodbye to people you admire and love. Today we bid adieu to one of our dearest friends and professional journalists Javid. He was always quite helpful and cooperative to junior reporters.”
As per his colleagues, Javid Ibn Nazir, who would go by his pen name as Javid Ahmad, was a “young professional who had covered many hard hitting stories”. “From reporting on the ground and working with a deep passion, Javid had come a long way,” said his former colleague Nazir Ahmad.
“Javid was known to be a humble and soft spoken person among the media fraternity,” said Nazir. Several of his friends and colleagues paid rich tributes to Javid and expressed grief with the bereaved family. Javid had got married in April this year and is survived by his wife, parents, two sisters and a brother.
Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) has expressed shock at the demise of Javid who was associated with daily ‘Rising Kashmir’ for the last seven years. “The incident is not only tragic and shocking for the family of the young journalist but the entire media fraternity in Kashmir is pained at his sudden demise,” KEG said in a statement. KEG has expressed solidarity with the family members of the young journalist.