Suhail Khan
SOPORE, Mar 30: A drug addict son allegedly killed his mother in the Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said Thursday.
Reports reaching Kashmir Despatch said the son strangulated his mother to death in Dangarpora village of Sopore late Wednesday evening. The accused was arrested within hours of committing the gruesome crime.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to a hospital for medico-legal formalities while a case has been registered at Sopore police station.
The accused Showket Ahmed who strangulated his mother to death was a chronic drug addict and was taken by police in preventive custody several times, locals said.
“Around 11:30pm, Showket knocked on our door and was carrying an iron rod in his hand. We got panicked especially my wife who had undergone a surgery yesterday. Showket told me there are some unknown men at his home but noticing him under the influence of drugs, I pushed him away and locked the door again,” said Showket’s brother, Mushtaq Ahmed, who resides next to mother’s house.
He said Showkat threw stones on front side of their home breaking window glasses. His mother Ayesha Apa tried to stop him but he asked her to stay silent.
“Showkat told her to shut her mother else he will hang her. Shortly afterwards, I heard Ayesha Aapa (my mother) screaming and I came out and started calling neighbours,” he added.
According to him, it was dark when they reached the crime spot “But Showket pelted stones on us to prevent us from moving ahead. Two civilians approached us saying Army is calling people one by one. We went outside and after thorough enquiry and narrating the scene, army men accompanied us to the spot but we didn’t find anyone at first. After searches we found Aapa (mother) near a well with a broken door on her in a bid to conceal his crime,” he said.
He said that soldiers helped them take the body to Sopore hospital where she was declared brought dead. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sopore Shabir Nawab said that the accused killed mother when he was under the influence of drugs.
“The person is a staunch drug addict. The accused has confessed his crime,” the SSP said. Adding that a case in this regard has already been registered and the accused is in police custody.
This is the third incident in Kashmir where a son has killed his mother since October 2022. On December 22, a man attacked his family members and neighbors with a wooden log killing three persons, including his mother, and injuring seven others in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Earlier in November last year, a resident of Kehribal in Anantnag killed his own mother only to steal money from the deceased. After the murder, the suspect, along with his friend, created a fake story to mislead the people and the police by blaming his relatives for crime. Experts believe such gruesome incidents happening at regular intervals will nudging the society towards disaster.
Dr. Shiffa, a social activist, told Kashmir Despatch that this unfortunate Sopore incident highlighting the escalating drug menace that has engulfed our society. This incident serves as a wake-up call for us to address the pressing issue of drug abuse in our society, she said. (With inputs from KNO)
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
