'Rushed to Save Her But Couldn't': Says Husband of Nomadic Woman Raped-Murdered Outside Srinagar

For decades, 50-year-old Mohammad (name withheld to protect identity) and his wife had journeyed across nearly every hill in Jammu and Kashmir with their livestock. It was the life they had known—simple and tough, but never unsafe.That changed tragically on 4 May, when Mohammad's wife didn't return to their camping site at the foothills of Srinagar’s Zabarwan mountains.“We were in our tent. She told me she was taking the goats to graze nearby. About an hour later, the goats returned alone, running towards the camp—but my wife wasn’t with them. I could feel something was wrong.”Mohammad told The QuintHe then rushed outside in search of his wife. He claimed that he saw that a man was hitting her on her head repeatedly. “When I raised an alarm, he (accused) fled,” Mohammad added.By this time, some locals had gathered and his wife was rushed to a local hospital in Srinagar, where she succumbed to her injuries. Mohammad claimed that his wife was raped and then murdered. The Jammu and Kashmir Police registered a first information report (FIR) under “relevant sections of law” and arrested all the accused in the “sexual assault case”. The accused were identified as Suhail Bashir Bhat, Adil Ali Bhat, Firdous Ahmad Rather, and Suhail Afzal Bhat—three locals from Srinagar, and one resident of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district. Mohammad recalled that when he reached the spot, he saw his wife “completely broken”.“I was shattered. I saw her clothes were torn apart... and she was bleeding profusely,” he said. Mohammad somehow mustered the courage and covered her body with a blanket—and rushed her to the hospital with the help of the locals. "She was unconscious... we were praying that she would survive but she couldn't. We are shattered. I have lost my companion.” A mother of five children, the 45-year-old woman had been coming to Kashmir ever since she got married in 1994. For generations, the nomadic Gujjar and Bakarwal tribes have migrated between Jammu and Kashmir with the changing seasons, along with their livestock. Each April, they arrive at Kashmir’s highland pastures for the summer months, and by October, they make their way back to the plains of Jammu to spend the winter.A resident of Reasi district of Jammu province, the victim and her family, too, had migrated to Kashmir with their livestock ahead of the summer season—like they did every year. They had decided to camp in the Nishat area in the outskirts of Srinagar for 15-20 days—till the snow melted down completely in the upper reaches of Sonmarg, which is around 80 km from Srinagar.When the locals gathered to help move the victim to the hospital, they managed to also catch hold of one of the accused.“His name is Adil. My son told me his clothes were soaked in blood,” Mohammad recounted. The accused was roughed up by the locals and then handed over to the police. Mohammad further alleged that Adil used to venture near their camping site. “I saw him last year as well,” he added. Mohammad said he saw the other accused, and could have caught hold of them, but they fled. “I thought it was better to save my wife first,” he lamented.In 2018, when an eight-year-old girl from the Bakarwal tribe was allegedly gang raped and murdered by five individuals from a different community in Jammu’s Kathua district, the entire state was on edge. The Mehbooba Mufti-led government at that time had removed two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from her Cabinet, over their support for the accused. The nomadic community allege that since the accused are from the Muslim community, there's a deafening silence from the broader Kashmiri society. “There were no such protest marches, candlelight vigils, or media glare on our case,” a woman from the Gujjar tribe, who had come to console the family, told The Quint. “Had she been a woman from any other community, things would have been different." Mohammad, however, added that the incident “got buried” under the border clashes between India and Pakistan, even though police were quick to nab the culprits within no time. “I could understand that people were scared due to ongoing clashes and preferred to stay indoors,” he said.Amir Choudhary, a social activist from the Gujjar community, however, argued that since the victim belonged to the nomadic tribe, was poor, and had no political influence, no serious attention has been paid to the case. “It was only after we raised our voices and questioned the silence of the Kashmiri society that statements of condemnation began to emerge from various political parties," Choudhary alleged.Kashmir's Mirwaiz Breaks Silence: 'Seeking Peace Doesn't Make Me Anti-National'Talib Hussain, another Gujjar activist, noted that Kashmiris consider Gujjar and Bakarwal tribes as part of their society, and so they should have come forward to show their concern "on their own".The political parties in Kashmir did condemn the incident, but their responses were confined to social media. In a post on X, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote, “Deeply shocked and heartbroken by the alleged rape and tragic death of a tribal woman in Nishat. Reports suggest she suffered brutal injuries and succumbed en route to the hospital. The police have arrested the accused, who were reportedly intoxicated during the crime.”The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference also expressed deep sorrow and strong condemnation over the alleged rape and death of the nomadic woman. In a statement, the party said, “Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family in this moment of profound loss.”“This tragic incident is a grim reminder of the growing threat of violence against women. Such acts are an affront to our collective conscience and cannot be allowed to go unpunished.”Jammu and Kashmir National Conference statementPeople’s Conference leader Sajad Lone called the assault a “barbaric” crime, and demanded stringent punishment and a fast-track trial in the case.The victim's 27-year-old daughter told The Quint that the incident has left the women of the tribe "scared"."We can’t sleep out of fear,” she added. She further said that the people in the area had been very cooperative. A number of locals have visited the family since the incident, she said, adding that they "showed their concern and regretted the incident."A police official told The Quint that as per the initial investigation, it's a case of attempt to rape.“As per medical reports, there was no penetration but there was certainly an attempt to rape. The women died after she was apparently hit by some object,” the police official said, wishing not to be named.The official further said that this wasn’t a pre-planned attack but the accused were in the “state of intoxication”."The investigation is still going on. More details will follow," the official added. The Quint reached out to the top officials of the J&K Police for the Forensic Science Laboratory report to confirm the cause of the death. They refused to comment on the matter. The article will be updated as and when they agree to share further details. In the meantime, the family remains hopeful that the police will investigate the case thoroughly and ensure the culprits are brought to justice.(Auqib Javeed is an independent Srinagar-based journalist. He tweets at @AuqibJaveed).

BECOME A MEMBER

'Lost My Companion,' Says Husband of Nomadic Woman Raped-Murdered in Kashmir

Talking to The Quint, the family regretted that the incident 'got buried' under the India-Pakistan border clashes.

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from news

Topics: Kashmir Rape and Murder Kathua Rape and Murder