Sameer Sheikh

 

The three-storey house located in the thickly populated Jamalatta locality of downtown Srinagar is enveloped in pain and melancholy. It was where the 19-year-old Mehraan Yaseen Shalla, used to live with his parents and siblings till he decided to join a ‘tanzeem’ militant organisation and quietly left home.

 

The cries of wailing persons - mostly women - coming from the house hit one hard. The middle-aged parents of Mehraan are beyond themselves with grief. People - friends, relatives and neighbours - are pouring in to express their support and offer comfort.

 

Mehran went missing in the evening of May 18 and then the family’s worst fears came true when, in a video circulated on social media, Mehraan, announced he had chosen to become a militant.

 

Mehraan’s elder brother Faizaan looks dazed and tormented, also because he must not have slept for days ever since his brother left. While speaking with the visitors, Faizaan blames himself for not being able to pick signals about his younger brother’s plans.

Faizan Shalla

 

Mehraan’s mother, Rafeeqa was in no position to talk. A homemaker, the 55-year old Rafeeqa, has slipped into anxiety and mental pressure required a visit by the doctor.

 

Mehraan is the youngest of the three children of Mohammad Yaseen Shalla, who runs his leather business. The 60-year old Shalla is unable to figure out what made his son pick a life where death is the only certainty.

 

Mehraan was in the second semester of his graduate course at Gandhi Memorial College. He also worked part-time as a courier delivery boy with a private company. Faizan, 24, is in the final year of his graduation and he too works part-time.

 

Their elder sister is 28 and works with a private company. From the family’s profile, it looks like any other middle-class family of hard-working people. 

 

In one of the videos released by the family, Mehraan’s maternal uncle is seen beating his chest. It seems Mehraan was his dearest nephew. He is seen crying, “Come back! Come back! You are aware of the hardships I am going through. The pain you have given me is unbearable and incurable. Please return home. I was dreaming to see you as a gentle and adventurous boy. I had never imagined that you will pick up guns and be a part of the game where death is the only end.” 

Picture from the video released by the family

 

For the recent Eid celebrations, Mehraan had purchased baked goodies for his family and happily celebrated with the family.

Mehraan left his home around 7.15 pm and did not return. The worried family lodged a missing report at the local police station. On May 20, a video clip went viral on social media in Kashmir, in which Mehraan admitted that he has joined the militant outfit The Resistance Front. He was seen requesting his parents not to search for him.  

 

Mehraan’s distressed family later released a video clip, hoping that it would reach him. In the tragic video clip, the family is crying for Mehraan to return. His parents can be seen crying that he is aware of the challenges faced by the family, and instead of being a helping hand, he has left them. “Please come back, please come back,” a member of the family is seen crying over and over again in the video clip.