Srinagar: Thirty-four years after the Thune-Kangan massacre, families of the victims continue to seek justice for the loss of their loved ones, who were killed by personnel from the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in the Thune Kangan area of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1990.
According to Kashmir Media Service, on the evening of September 10, 1990, fifteen individuals, including Eng Tariqul Islam, Ghulam Muhammad Wani, Frooq Ahmed Lone, Parvaiz Ahmed, along with the driver and conductor of a passenger bus, were killed and a dozen were injured when BSF personnel attacked the bus they were traveling in. The attackers not only fired on the bus but also set it ablaze. Despite the passing of over three decades, the families of the victims have yet to see any form of justice, while the accused personnel continue to operate under the protection of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which grants them immunity in the region.
An eyewitness to the attack recounted to Kashmir Media Service the horror of that day, describing how the BSF personnel halted the bus during its route from Sunamag to Kangan and opened fire “without any rhyme or reason” at the Thune area of Kangan. The survivors, including the eyewitness, managed to escape under the cover of darkness, narrowly avoiding further casualties.
The victim families remain in search of closure, as the demand for justice goes unanswered, with the perpetrators continuing their duties under controversial laws that critics argue enable such incidents of violence without accountability.