In Sopore, ‘mysterious midnight knocks’ add to people’s fear

The main market in this north Kashmir town, which is in news following a spate of civilian killings, is abuzz with activity.

That few local residents have made it to the market for purchases, especially for the holy month of Ramadhan beginning Friday, is quite visible. What, however, is invisible is the fear that has gripped them for the past few months—ever since the civilian killings by “unidentified gunmen” started to take place.

According to local residents, what has added to this prevailing fear is the mysterious midnight knocks at the doors of their houses and beating of shop shutters.

“This is giving us sleepless nights,” said a group of locals. “We don’t know what’s happening in Sopore. We don’t know what’s going to happen the next moment.”

The fallout of this fear is visible on the streets of Sopore which are largely manned by armed forces. Most lanes here are under vigil of army men and ‘mobile bunkers’ of J&K police’s Special Operations Group.

Even though locals throng the market, traders here say the recent killings have “badly hit their businesses.”

“We tried to open the market today, but business is down. People fear to move out of their homes,” said a shopkeeper at the main market. He said the killings have “cast a shadow of terror on the minds of people here.”

A woman along with her two kids was seen shopping in the market. She hurriedly boarded an auto to reach home. “I am done with shopping; I should reach home before 4 pm. Anything can happen in Sopore anytime,” the woman, a resident of Badambagh area, told Greater Kashmir.

Sopore opened Thursday after days of closure in the wake of civilian killings.

From a distance, one could hear the noise of students of Government Degree College Sopore. “Due to the constant fear, many students have preferred to sit at home,” said a teacher there.

In the interiors of Sopore, especially Dooru, Mundji, Badambag and Batpora—where killings took place—even a knock by a neighbor alerts people.

In the house of one slain person, Aijaz Ahmed Reshi of Mundji, a neighbour’s knock recently terrified the inmates. “It’s our neighbour, don’t worry,” Reshi’s brother told them. Reshi was killed barely few meters away from his residence recently.

Many residents complained they witness midnight knocks and beating of shutters. “We have hardly slept since the killings have started. We don’t know who the killers are, but all this is giving us sleepless nights,” said Mymoona, a local resident. “We only talk about such killings within the four walls of our rooms. We don’t talk about them publicly for fear of getting killed.”

Elders in Dooru and adjacent villages like Bomai and Batpora, however, are braving fear to spend time in managing their orchards. “We have to take care of our fruit crop. It’s been more than a week that we haven’t visited our orchards,” said Ghulam Ahmed Dar of Bomai. “But we make sure we return home before 6 pm.”

In most of the villages, elderly residents have evolved a unanimous consensus not to offer Taraveeh (late night prayers held in Ramadhan) in Masjids. “In our Masjid, at least 50 people would offer prayers five times a day. But the number has gone down to just four after the recent attacks. We have now decided to offer Taraveeh prayers at our homes,” said Habibullah Mir of Mundji village.

A senior police officer at Sopore, however, said all possible steps are being taken to ensure safety of people.

But that is little reassuring for locals. “We don’t trust anyone now,” Habibullah said.