Like every other day, Mohammad Shafi Parray left for his tailoring shop in Kashmir’s Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar, on the morning of November 14.

Soon, the 50-year-old was asked to visit the local police station.

“Around 9 in the morning, officials from the nearby Nowgam police station took him to the station along with his sewing machine and other tools,” Parray’s nephew Zahoor Ahmad Parray, who lives near the shop, told Scroll. “I informed his son. I told them to not worry.”

Parray’s family members did not “worry” about the summons to the police station as the tailor had a “working relationship” with the police.

Zahoor Parray said it was not uncommon for officials from the police station to avail of his services. “They would ask him to sew uniforms, or alter clothes,” he said, adding that his uncle was paid for his work.

That day, Shafi Parray had been summoned to stitch cloth bags to store explosive material recovered from the conspirators of the Red Fort blast in New Delhi on November 10.

Hours before the blast, the Jammu and Kashmir police busted a “transnational terror module,” linked to the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Kashmir-based Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.

The police investigations led to the arrest of seven Kashmiris from across the country and recovery of 2,900 kg of material used to make improvised explosive devices or IEDs, including ammonium nitrate.

Since the case was registered at the Nowgam police station, the investigators had secured the seized substance at the police station.

Blast at midnight

Shafi Parray spent the better part of the day at the police station, though he did drop by his home and his mosque for Friday prayers. “In the evening, he came home to have tea,” said Bilal Ahmad, 27, the eldest of Mohammad Parray’s three children. “Later, he came home to get some warm clothes and have dinner before leaving for the police station again.”

His daughter called him around 11 pm, asking him when he would be back. “He told her he will be back in an hour or so,” Bilal added.

That was the last time the family would hear from Mohammad Shafi Parray.

Twenty minutes later, a massive explosion took place inside the Nowgam police station in Srinagar. Nine persons died in the blast, including three personnel each from the police and Forensic Science Laboratory, two revenue officials and Parray, “who was associated with the team.”

The Jammu and Kashmir police said the “accidental explosion” took place when the investigators were taking samples of the recovered material.

“Any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary,” said Nalin Prabhat, the chief of Jammu and Kashmir police, ruling out any possibility of the explosion having been triggered by an attack.

In Kashmir, it’s not uncommon for police stations to avail the services of electricians, linesmen and tailors in the neighbourhood. However, hiring a civilian to deal with sensitive explosives in a high-profile case is uncommon.

After the blast, Parray’s family rushed to the police station, some 300 metres from their home. “The entire police station was engulfed in flames,” recalled Bilal Ahmad Parray. “All I had in my mind was my father.” He had tried to enter the burning premises of the police station but was stopped by police officials.

As many of the injured had been taken to nearby hospitals, Parray’s family looked for him in several private as well as government facilities. Their search ended on the morning of November 15 when they reached Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Control Room.

“Around 5.30 am, a police vehicle came outside the PCR and asked for the family of Mohammad Shafi Parray,” said Zahoor Ahmad Parray, the nephew. “They had recognised him from a receipt in his name. They had found it in his shirt pocket.”

According to Zahoor Parray, the tailor’s body was unrecognisable. “His body was totally burnt and his legs were missing,” he said.

‘Backbone of locality’

In Nowgam’s Shankerpora Wanbal locality, it’s not hard to make out Parray’s home. Young mourners and old relatives huddle outside his house, discussing the man they knew very well.

“He was the backbone of our neighbourhood,” said a youngster. “He was someone who would offer his help to anyone even when they did not ask for it.”

Shafi Parray filled many roles in the area. Besides being a volunteer at the mosque, Parray would also undertake the job of an undertaker and give the final ritual bath to the dead. “In our entire locality, if anyone died, he was the one who would sew the shroud,” said Ahmad, another youngster who gave his second name only.

The sole breadwinner for his family, Parray is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. “None of his children are married and none of them are settled yet,” said Mohammad Yousuf Parray, the tailor’s elder brother.

Parray had started learning tailoring at a young age, Yousuf Parray said. “He was not good at studies,” he said. “So, my father asked me to train him in some skill. Eventually, he became an apprentice of a tailor before he opened his own shop.”

Despite working for decades, Parray was not able to buy a shop of his own. “He had rented the one he worked in,” said Yousuf Parray. “He put all his savings in providing for the family and educating his children.”

The death has not only created an emotional void for the family but also a financial one. Among his three children, only his 24-year-old daughter has completed her graduation. But she is still unemployed. His elder son works as a salesman at a shop, the younger is yet to find a job. “We don’t know how we will survive without him,” said Bilal Ahmad, his son.

On November 16, the Jammu and Kashmir government announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the nine killed in the police station blast.

The family says that is not enough. “Except for my brother, the others who died were government employees,” said Mohammad Yousuf Parray. “Their families have lost their loved ones too but they know that their departments will take care of their kin and their needs. We want the government to at least provide a job to one of Parray’s family members.”

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting