TO earn his livelihood, Gulzar Wagay used to repair vehicles of villagers and was living a happy life at Sheilpora village in Anantnag. Being a hard worker and good mechanic, Wagay never let his clients down and had a good clientele. However, Wagay's dream to establish a full-fledged car repair centre in neighbouring Achabal town was shatterd by the BSF, according to family members.

"The BSF is responsible for ruining our life," said Sehazad Begum, Gulzar's wife. On January 17, 1995, it was a cold winter morning, when Gulzar was taken to a nearby BSF camp with a message that some vehicles needed to be repaired for the security forces. He left for the camp without wasting any time to make some money. Since then Sehazad never saw her husband again as he disappeared in the camp.

When Gulzar failed to return home, worried family contacted the camp in-charge. "To our surprise, the BSF refused to even acknowledge that my husband had been to the camp," said Sehazad, who still hopes that her husband will return one day. "I am sure he will be with me some day. He was innocent and had nothing to do with politics."

Villagers and relatives of Gulzar visited the BSF camp many a times, but their pleas failed to mellow down the BSF officials. Losing hope, the family approached a nearby police station. "I approached the SHO Achabal and sought his help. Neither the officer helped nor did he lodged any FIR," says Sehazad. The police officer tried to avoid us by playing various tricks. I am sure he (officer) knew what actually had happened with my husband inside the camp, she added.

... contd.