Shopian, May 30, : A complete shutdown was observed in South Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday to commemorate the 10th death anniversary of Asiya and Neelofar.
All the shops, business establishments and educational institutes remained shut in the area while traffic also remained off the roads.
Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani had called for the shut down in the area.
On this day in 2009, the dead bodies of Asiya (17)and her sister-in-law Neelofar (22) were recovered from Rambi Ara stream.
The women were allegedly raped and then murdered after they had gone to tend their orchard located across the stream.
The incident had spelled strong protests across the Kashmir.
The villagers alleged that both were raped and murdered by the government forces. Curfew remained in vogue for over 47 days.
Following widespread protest across the state, JK police finally filed FIR of rape and murder on June 7, 2009.
After passing through twists and turns, finally a CBI investigation report into the case came up—that apparently proved a last nail in the coffin. It said: the duo died due to drowning in Rambi canal—much to the dismay of the family members of the victims, who still fail to understand: “How could our daughters ‘died due to drowning’ in an ankle-deep water body!”
