For the past 13 years, not a single day has passed when Saja Begum did not remember her missing husband Ghulam Hassan Sofi. Looking after her four children, including two daughters, Begum believes he will be back with them one day.

Sofi (then 46-years-old), a resident of Hamdan, was a chemist and lived a happy life. But the night of July 1, 1994, brought darkness in their lives. He was arrested by the troops of 3 Rashtriya Rifles from his house.

"Troops raided our house in the middle of the night and took away my husband," Begum said. He was taken to the nearby camp at Ashmuqam for interrogation.

Knowing that Sofi was innocent, all his relatives camped outside the office of Rashtriya Rifles and registered a strong protest. They even filed an FIR against the Army in the neighboring police station. Later a delegation of villagers also met the deputy commissioner of Anantnag and pleaded innocence of the middle-aged chemist.

But their efforts yielded no results.

Another person Mohammad Yosuf, who was arrested along with Sofi, couldn\'t give much information. When Sofi\'s family members met him, he could say little. Both he and Sofi shared an interrogation cell for six days.

"He told us that my husband was shifted to another camp soon after his arrest," Begum recalled.

Six years after Sofi\'s arrest, the family received "good news" with arrival of an Army team in the village. The officers, according to villagers, got details of missing Sofi. Before the Army team left, the officers assured them that he will soon be with his family. But, he never came.

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