By: Ahmad Shabir
Anantnag: A four-year-old nomadic girl, who went missing in the woods of Batkote Pahalgam last week, continued to remain untraced, leaving her parents in a state of shock.
Shakira went missing the same day her family arrived here in the dense forests of Pahalgam. The family had moved all the way from Akhnoor area of Jammu.
Abdul Rashid Baji, father of the missing girl and his wife, since their daughter went missing are in a state of shock. They are broken to the extent that they cannot even speak.
However, the other relatives of the girl say that the girl went missing in the woods in the broad day light soon after reaching there.
“The family reached here at around 12 pm on June 5 along with livestock. As her mother reached the spot along with her three children and some belongings where it was supposed to erect the tent, she told her kids to wait there till she brings other belongings that she had dropped at a little distance from the spot,” Uncle of the girl, Haji Gama is heard telling reporters in a video.
Within half an hour, as their mother returned she was shocked to see her daughter missing.
“On her return she found only two children there with both of them busy playing,” girls uncle told reporters.
Gama said they too have no clue where the girl went.
“Since it was the mid day when the girl went missing. During day time there is no threat of wild animal in the area. We have no idea what happened to the little girl. The thought of what happened to her gives us sleepless nights,” Gama said.
Another relative of the girl, Shabir Ahmad said that they searched for her all around the forest area and even from the brook passing through the forest but did not find her anywhere.
“All our efforts to locate her from the forest and water stream failed to yield any results. All the nomadic families from last ten days are carrying out searches but now we have lost the hope of locating her,” he told reporters.
He said that nobody from wild life or other concerned departments came to them. “Poor is poor. Who cares about us? See the condition of his father and mother. We appeal the authorities to help us in locating the girl,” Gama told reporters pointing towards the girl’s father.
An official of the administration in Pahalgam, however, said that the family did not report the incident initially.
“We came to know about the girl having gone missing few days ago after which police and other agency started searches for the girl,” the officer said.
