An engineer turned militant Khursheed Ahmad Malik was killed just 48-hours after he joined the militant ranks.
Malik ,23, of Aarbal Nikas in Pulwama district was killed along with his aide during a night long gun battle with the forces in north Kashmir’s Sopore area on Friday.
As soon as the word about his killing spread in his native village this morning people in droves began to trickle into Aarbal Nikas, a small quaint village tucked away in the apple orchards in Pulwama district.
A disarmingly simple Malik had recently completed his engineering from Sri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra and had joined militant ranks just two days before his killing.
Malik, who until a few days ago was living by his ambition of becoming a KAS officer, had left his home on Tuesday morning to apply for the recently announced KAS exam. When he was not home till next morning, his family registered a missing report with the police station. “We filed a missing report with Pulwama police station after waiting for him to return. We had not even thought that he would join militancy” said a family member while letting out a painful cry.
As worry gripped the family, Malik’s paralysed mother and sister, both looking pale and haggard, took to social media and appealed him to return.
“We thought our message will reach to him and he will return but….” said another family member.
On Thursday night, continuous buzzing of a mobile phone woke his father Ghulam Nabi from his sleep. And when he answered the phone the he was shell shocked as his son on the other end told him that he was trapped in an encounter in Sopore. “He spoke briefly and asked to forgive him if he has hurt us” said senior Malik.
Khursheed, according to his family, had also applied for a Sub-Inspector’s job with J&K police and had also cleared the physical fitness test.
Meanwhile, entire Pulwama district observed a complete shutdown on Friday.
Various stone pelting incidents between the protesters and government forces took place at multiple locations in Pulwama town. Similar scenes were witnessed around the native village of Malik.