Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar

On Tuesday Parvaiz Ahmed Dar was on his way to offer Magrib (post-sunset) namaz at the neighbourhood mosque in Kanipora, Nowgam, on outskirts of Srinagar city in Kashmir when terrorists waiting for him shot him dead.

What his killers had chosen to ignore about the life of this 45-year old Policeman servingas an Inspector in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Jammu and Kashmir police, was that he was a devout Muslim and regularly came to the mosque to offer Maghrib andIsha (late night) prayers.

The in-between time was for his family and the extended family. Parvaiz had lost his father-in-law about three weeks ago. After offering the Maghrib namaz, he would visit the family of his in-laws and sometimes even have dinner with them.

The complete Family man that Parvaiz was he cared about his in-law’s family. After the death of the Patriarch there, he made it a point to visit and spend time with them each evening to show his support and resolve issues, if any. For three week, he had set a routine of visiting the mosque for Maghrib prayers, visit in-laws’ family and return home late at night after offeringIsha prayers at the same mosque.

Senior Police officers visiting the family of Parvaiz Ahmed Dar

He killers –two young men whose images were captured by the CCTV camera of the mosque – had probably noticed his routine and had meticulously planned his murder.

On Tuesday evening around 8 pm, when he stepped into the mosque premises one of the men waiting there came from behind and shot at him with his pistol. The CCTV camera shows Parvaiz collapsing as his killers flee from the scene.

He was rushed to the nearby hospital by the locals where he breathed his last within some time.

His death not only compounded the tragedy of his in-laws’ where people had seen him alive last it left his family devastated.

When his body arrived home late at night, people from all over the area and his extended family members had already reached there and hundreds of people were seen waiting and grieving publically on the street.

Parvaiz Ahmad Dar leaves behind his wife, ‘inconsolable 13-year old daughter and 10-year-old son, his old parents, two brothers and two sisters. Being the eldest among sibling he was virtually head of a joint family that has since been left in deep grief.

He was a great support to his entire family of five siblings, children and aged parents, most of them engaged in farming and cultivation of land.

J&K Police chief Dilbagh Singh leads the meeting in paying silent homage to the fallen policeman

He was a great support to his family of four siblings, parents, two children and his wife. His family cultivates land and most of their livelihood is dependent on agriculture.

The mild-mannered Parvaiz had completed 21 years in the Police service. He was currently posted as District Inspector (CIK) at Parimpora, West Srinagar Zone.

His colleagues and seniors saw Parvaiz as a ‘gentleman and an honest officer.’ He was known as someone who worked with dedication and never bothered for limelight or taking credit.

His killing was the second such incident during the past one week; earlier a policeman was killed in Eidgah, Srinagar.

The Police said that “CCTV footage shows firing by two terrorists with pistols. Identification is being done. Suspects are being questioned”.  

His death has sent shockwaves in the police administration as Director General of Police, Dilbagh Singh reviewed the functioning of the force in the Kashmir zone. The meeting held at the Police headquarters here Wednesday began with a two-minute silence for martyr Parvaiz Ahmad Dar.

The DGP said that the 2000 batch officer had performed excellently at his places of posting.

Later the DGP visited the deceased’s family. He was accompanied by IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, DIG Central Kashmir Range Amit Kumar and SSP Srinagar Sandeep Choudhary.

Singh expressed his sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul. He also assured all the possible help from the department to the family of the martyr.