Family members have last glimpse of little Haziq; Hundreds attend funeral at Gandbal amid tears, sobs; father-son duo continue to remain missing
SRINAGAR: Finally, prayers of Kashmiri people got answered on Friday after the body of 11-year-old boy Haziq Ahmed Sheikh of Gandbal, Srinagar was retrieved from river Jehlum after a gap of 11-days on Friday.
With the recovery of Haziq’s body, the death toll in the Gandbal boat capsize has reached to seven while as the father-son duo continue to remain missing.
Locals of Gandbal area of Srinagar told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the body of Haziq was seen at Zero-bridge and was retrieved as well without any delay. Later, the body was identified as Haziq Ahmed Sheikh, 11, of Gandbal, who had drowned along with six others in river Jehlum and was missing since April 16. Since then, religious scholars of different school of thoughts visited Gandbal to share the pain and grief of bereaved families. They also prayed for the recovery of untraced bodies. Emotional duas were made by the religious preachers for the recovery of those untraced. Locals at Gandbal said they are hopeful that the bodies of father-son duo will also float and they would have their last glimpse as well.
A pall of gloom descended over the entire Gandbal area of Srinagar yet again as the news of recovery of Haziq’s body reached the area.
An eyewitness told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that as the body of Haziq reached his native area Gandbal, people irrespective of age and colour flooded the little boy’s residence amid shrieks and cries while as women were seen wailing. The Gandbal locality of city has been in a state of mourning since past 11 days, owing to the tragic boat capsize incident that claimed seven lives including little Haziq. The father-son duo continue to remain missing under waters.
Regarding the retrieval of Haziq’s body, a local, who was part of the sand extraction team at Zero Bridge, Rajbagh, said that they saw the body on the top of the water floating near Rajbagh area on Friday afternoon. “Soon, I along with other men rushed towards the body and handed it to the police, who then took it to the hospital, where medical formalities were done after which the body was handed over to the boy’s family,” he said.
The two bodies of father-son duo Showkat Ahmed and Farhan Parray continue to remain untraced. Meanwhile, hundreds of people attended the funeral of Haziq at Gandbal and bid his last goodbye. The family members of Haziq including his grandmother, father and mother also had last glimpse of little Haziq before his burial bath. People from various parts of Srinagar had reached Gandbal to participate in the funeral of little boy.