Soon after he saw his daughter lying in a pool of blood, Khazir Bhat fell consciousness. Hours later, his 30-year-old daughter, Amreen Bhat was brought home, dead.
Moments before, Amreen’s 10-year-old nephew had informed her that two unknown men had been looking for her outside. Soon after she went out, 85-year-old Khazir, a resident of central Kashmir’s Budgam, heard his elder daughter scream, “Abba, Amreen has been hit by bullets.”
The child had also been hit by a bullet in his arm and is currently admitted in Srinagar’s Bones and Joints hospital.
Before the family could understand what had happened, the unknown gunmen had already run away. Amreen was immediately rushed to a hospital in Srinagar where the doctors declared her dead. Amreen was a television artist and a singer who uploaded her songs on various social media platforms including YouTube.
“At around 1955 hours, terrorists fired upon one lady Amreen Bhat D/O Khazir Mohd Bhat R/O Hushroo Chadoora at her home. She was shifted to a hospital in injured condition where doctors declared her dead. Her 10-year-old nephew who was also at home received bullet injury in his arm,” Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a tweet.
The attack was conducted by three militants from the Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT), the police added.
Amreen started acting at the age of 15 and was the sole breadwinner of the family, looking after her old father and sister. “Nobody ever even asked her to stop working as an actor, so I don’t know if that’s the reason,” said Khazir. “She was peacefully doing her work. I really don’t know why they killed my daughter.”
Reacting to the incident, Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah condemned Amreen’s killing.“Shocked & deeply saddened by the murderous militant attack on Ambreen Bhat. Sadly Ambreen lost her life in the attack & her nephew was injured. There can be no justification for attacking innocent women & children like this. May Allah grants her place in Jannat,” he tweeted.
Khazir said that his daughter was hit by a bullet on her neck and her back. “No one from the administration came to our house to enquire about what had happened,” he said.
“Who bothers about poor people like us? No one can bring back my dead daughter,” he said, adding that his daughter had no political affiliations. “I cannot even tell who killed my daughter.”
Maktoob tried contacting the Station House Officer (SHO) Chadoora regarding the killing, however, the call went unanswered.
On Friday, Kashmir Police Zone quoting IGP Kashmir wrote, “both killers (LeT militants) of late Amreen Bhat, an artist, trapped in Awantipora encounter. Further details shall follow.”
