SRINAGAR: An agonizing wait is getting longer and longer for a poor family in Sopore.
A month on, the body of 15-year-old girl, who jumped into Jhelum, is yet to be traced.
Driven by poverty and illness, the girl from Sopore jumped into Jhelum on December 12. SDRF, Marine Commandos (Marcos), and trained divers were pressed into service to locate the body. A month on, the body is yet to be traced.
“It is painful. Every time there are some rumors, we rush to the spot with the hope to fish out the body. Last time too, there was a rumor about a body at Baramulla. We rushed and pressed boats into service but to no avail,” Shahnaz Shafi Khuroo, cousin of the teenager, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Normally after 36 hours of drowning, the body gets petrified and rises to the surface. Earlier, in a similar drowning incident, the body of a child was fished out after 20 days. This time, more than a month has passed, and there is no trace of the body.
Divers and rescue teams used all means to locate the body. Even fishermen were pressed into service. Marcos teams too came in to help. “Rescuers worked very hard to locate the body. Everyone tried their best. It is unfortunate that we could not trace the body,” said Shahnaz.
A poverty-stricken family is still not giving up. “We are carrying out a search at a personal level. We have started again a few days ago. We have also roped in fishermen. We pray that we get the body,” said Shahnaz.
It has been nine years since the family has been pushed to the margins due to poverty. The teenager’s father was the sole breadwinner. A driver by profession, he died in an accident leaving behind his wife and three children. The elder daughter is pursuing graduation and the lone son is suffering from chronic kidney disease.
Unable to cope with the family pressure, the girl slipped into depression. Waking up to poverty-driven suicide, Jammu and Kashmir government has provided financial assistance to the family. “DC Sahab has given some financial help. Plus, social media posts helped in raising some money too,” said Shahnaz.
