On the eleventh death anniversary of Tufail Mattoo, his father and relatives visited his grave in Srinagar to offer prayers.
On 11 June 2010, 17-year-old Tufail was returning to his home in Srinagar’s Saida Kadal area from his tuition classes — but near a neighboring protest, government forces chased him and fired a teargas shell at him. His killing had sparked protests in the city, which snowballed into the summer civilian uprising of 2010. More than 120 civilians were killed by the government forces in a few months.
On Friday, his father, Ashraf Mattoo was joined by relatives and friends in Srinagar’s Eidgah graveyard to mark the eleventh death anniversary of his only son.
Mattoo showered flowers on his son’s grave and offered Fatiha prayers, a ritual he has continued since 2010.
Talking to The Kashmir Walla, Mattoo said, “This was a fight for truth and I know what’s the truth. Everyone should side with the truth – everyone is a human in the end.”
Mattoo’s body is buried in parts in two different graveyards. Locals collected the scattered part of his head after he was hit by the shell and buried in the corner of Gani Memorial Stadium of the old city’s Rajouri Kadal area inside a small grave. The body, however, is buried in Eidgah.
Unlike any other year, this year the gathering was of family members and close friends, considering the ongoing crisis due to COVID-19.
