Life was hit in major towns of Kupwara district on Saturday due to a complete shutdown against massacre of 27 civilians by army in Kupwara town on this day in 1994.
Shops and commercial establishments remained closed and transport was off the roads. Most of the government offices remained closed. Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik had called for shutdown in the district to pay homage to the victims, most of them traders.
On 27 January 1994, the army massacred 27 civilians, including three policemen, in Kupwara town.
Recalling the gruesome incident, a survivor told Greater Kashmir that army men fired indiscriminately from multiple directions in the town on January 27, only to avenge the shutdown observed by traders on Republic Day a day before.
“A senior army officer appeared in the town that morning. He argued with shopkeepers in old chowk expressing disgust over the shutdown,” said Fayaz Ahmad, a local resident and shopkeeper.
“Without listening a word, the officer ordered soldiers to open fire. Hell broke down as soldiers fired from multiple directions forcing people to run helter-skelter for their lives. The firing lasted for at least 20 minutes killing at least 20 people at different places in the town before soldiers disappeared in army trucks,” he added.
The locals regretted that despite clinching evidence against army men and the concerned officer, the government has failed to book the guilty soldiers for the cold-blooded killings.
Meanwhile Independent MLA Engineer Rashid who attempted to visit the graveyard at Regipora was detained by police.
“The present dispensation has miserably failed to book the guilty soldiers and give justice to families of victims. The government has failed on every front especially in restoring peace in the valley,” Rashid told reporters.