The iftaar that never happened: BSF jawans were killed while buying bread

Srinagar, May 21: It was minutes before iftaar when terrorists on a motorcycle drove past a bakery in a busy market area firing bullets, instantly killing BSF constables Jia-ul-Haq and Rana Mondal while they were buying bread to break their Ramzan fast, officials said on Thursday.

The attack took place on Wednesday evening, just days before Eid, in Soura on the outskirts of Srinagar. The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of the Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The terrorists pumped bullets into the two troopers at close range before disappearing into the bylanes of the congested locality, officials said.

Haq and Mondal are from Murshidabad in West Bengal but their bodies can’t be sent back home because airports in the state are closed due to the havoc wreaked by Cyclone Amphan, officials said.

Both Haq, 34, and Mondal, 29, received serious head injuries. The two friends from the 37th battalion of the BSF were posted in the Pandach camp, tasked with keeping a watch on the entry and exit to Srinagar from neighbouring Ganderbal district.

Recapping the events of the day, officials said Mondal and Haq were just minutes away from breaking their fast. But that never happened. They left the world without having a drop of water at the end of a long day of fasting, troopers in the 37th battalion BSF said, mourning the death of their two colleagues who went too soon.

Haq, who joined the BSF in 2009, is survived by his parents, wife Nafsina Khatun and two daughters, four-year-old Zeshlin Jiul who is deaf mute, and Jennifer Jiul who is just six months old. He lived in Rezinagar, about 30 km from Murshidabad town. Mondal also leaves behind a six-month-old daughter as well as his parents and wife Jeshmin Khatun. He lived in Sahebrampur in Murshidabad.

Both men had been posted in Kashmir since August 5 last year, when the Centre announced its decision to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and to bifurcate it into the union territories of Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. Eid will be celebrated on May 24 or 25, depending on the sighting of the moon.