Kupwara: This north Kashmir district is observing shutdown on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the 1994 Kupwara Massacre that witnessed killing of 27 civilians and injuring of scores of others by government forces.
The survivors recount the “gory” memories that still haunt them despite passing of 24 years.
“On 25 January 1994, a patrolling party of Army’s Punjab regiment during a market checking in main town Kupwara warned the private business establishment owners not to observe shutdown on Republic Day (Jan 26). But, as usual, a complete shutdown was observed across the district.
“The regiment on the same day barged into the premises of Jamia Masjid Kupwara and told the Imam (cleric) to come outside where they thrashed him along with several worshippers.
“We decided to bring the incident to the notice of the then District Development Commissioner (DDC) Kupwara Yaseen Shah.
“Next day, on January 26, we along with traders’ federation approached Yaseen Shah and raised the issue before him. He assured us support and probe into the matter. After returning from the office of DDC, a group of government forces standing near the Old Bridge Kupwara without warning opened indiscriminate fire upon us leaving 27 dead on the spot. Dozens were injured among which many have been left handicapped.”
The survivors of the massacre lament that not actions has been taken against the guilty personnel till date.
A case FIR No: 19/94 under sections 302, 307 dated 27-01-1994 stands registered in the police station Kupwara.
