In an Indian flag-draped coffin rested the body of martyred Jammu and Kashmir police inspector Arshad Khan as his colleagues paid homage to the departed soul on Monday.
During the wreath-laying ceremony in district police lines Srinagar, Khan's colleague Haseeb Mughal carries his 4-year-old son Uhbaan, who looks at his father's coffin minutes before it's taken away.
Mughal, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, breaks down; his lips pursed together and his eyes glued to the ground.
His photograph has now become a part a collage depicting the havoc violence has wreaked on many Uhbaans over the last 3 decades in the Valley.
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Khan was critically injured on last Wednesday during a 'Fidayeen' attack by a Pakistani militant in K.P. Road area of Anantnag town.
Five CRPF troopers and the Fidayeen militant were killed on the spot in that attack.
Khan was posted as the Station House Officer (SHO) in Sadar police station in Anantnag town.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, parents and a younger brother. He belonged to Srinagar city and had been recruited in the state police in 2002.
(With inputs from IANS)
