Baramulla: Hundreds of grief-stricken mourners gathered in Uri on Monday to bid a tearful farewell to a family of five who tragically lost their lives in the Pandrethan Srinagar incident on Sunday evening.
A pall of gloom swept over the valley, particularly in Pandrethan Srinagar and Baramulla, as the news of the tragedy spread. “The heartbreaking scene of their bodies arriving at their native village in Uri on Monday afternoon left mourners wailing and inconsolable.”
Eyewitnesses told the news agency—JKNS—that hundreds of people from surrounding areas gathered for the funeral prayers, with the air filled with cries of sorrow.
The victims were identified as Ajaz Ahmad Bhat (38), son of Gh Rasool, his wife Saleema (32), and their three children—Areeb (3 years), Hamza (18 months), and an infant baby girl—all residents of Gingal, Uri, Baramulla.
Meanwhile, a viral photo of the lifeless family of five shook the entire Kashmir valley, amplifying the shared grief and highlighting the depth of the tragedy.
Mukhtar Ahmad, a local from Pandrethan, recalled the events leading to the discovery of the tragedy. He said, “I had closed the shop and was about to sleep when I received a call from their home. The caller said, ‘Mukhtar bhai, please check on Aijaz bhai. He hasn’t picked up the phone since 4 pm, and his mother is worried,’” Mukhtar recalled.
“I told the caller I would send someone else—Maqsood, who lives here as a tenant,” he added. “I kept the call on conference while Maqsood went to the house. When he knocked on the door, he found it locked, but after forcefully trying, he managed to open it. Maqsood shouted, ‘Mukhtar bhai, come quickly.’ When I asked what happened, he said, ‘Someone has fallen down.’”
Mukhtar rushed to the house immediately. “I called the Muhalla group and asked everyone to come quickly. They had been renting here for two months, and they had succumbed to gas suffocation,” he said.
Moreover, in the native village of Uri Baramulla, when the bodies arrived, the air was filled with wails of anguish, and the gloom was palpable.
A local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, shared, “I had just returned from work and was about to sleep when my wife came from another room and said, ‘Aijaz Bhat and his wife and children are dead.’ The entire area was engulfed in grief.”
Meanwhile, as the body reached Uri, the air was filled with hues and cries, and the family was laid to rest amid sobs and tears. — (JKNS)
