In Kashmir’s Apple Town, Fruit Growers Are Caught Between Government And Gunmen scroll.in

On the evening of September 6, Mohammad Ashraf Dar, Mohammad Ramzan Dar and his wife, Hajra, were driving back to their homes in Dangerpora, in the town of Sopore in North Kashmir. Around 7.30 pm, as they traveled down the Seelo-Dangerpora Link Road, the car was stopped by two masked gunmen.

According to the family, the gunmen got into the car and asked them to keep driving towards Dangerpora. “When they were close to Mohammad Ramzan’s house in Dangerpora, the gunmen allowed the lady to get off the car,” said a relative. “After dropping her, the gunmen told Ramzan and Ashraf to show them the house of ‘KFT Hamid Rather’.”

Over a month later, some of the curbs have been eased but shops are shut across the Valley, which is observing a civil shutdown to protest against the government’s decision. Posters have gone up in several parts of the Valley, asking traders to shut shop and government servants to stay away from work. Most public transport has also stayed off the roads.